Reader comments
Payday lending squeeze play

What a strange editorial, especially coming from the DMN. The best option isn�t for the financial service industry to develop ways to make sizable profits off of loans to military families. The best option is for people to live within their means!

People would survive without the �help� of loan sharks, wouldn�t they?

Payday lending is a CRIME!!! it takes advantage of the misfortunate and underpaid military professionals. payday lending should be outlawed!!!

And here I thought both parties - lenders and borrowers - were freely entering into a business relationship. Where there's no coercion, there's no need for regulation, right?

It is not criminal if people are willingly putting themsevles in that posistion. Unexpected expenses do come up, but if people would stop spending their money on every little thing they wanted and only bought the things they need, they wouldn't need payday advances.

Where is the bank that keeps sending me credit card applications? Can't these servicemen just get credit to back up a checking account? They shouldn't have to pay any more than say 18%. I suppose the problem is that some people don't pay off their debts and some other people who won't lend to the whole class of servicemen because not all of them are good credit risks.

Based on that (people are willingly putting themselves in that position), loan sharking, prostitution, and gambling should be legalized. As you said, unexpected things do come up once in a while. And the loan sharks, prostitutes and bookings are run like these payday loan operations are run. The only difference is that the gov't. can tax the payday loan operations.

The reason they are just outside the gate at military bases is because these "loan sharks," use the military to collect. A service member that doesn't or can't pay their debt is a security risk, and not eligible for deployment, or advancement so unpaid debt can be a career breaker. It is also easy to garnish their wages making young unexperienced service men/women easy victims that can't just walk away like most of the others.
Before the mid 70s interest rates charged by payday lenders was called usury, and was a crime. Loan sharking was a crime committed by people that broke fingers or worse in order to collect. Now it is a "legitimate" business.
Granted they exist because too many people are financially challenged, but we don't tolerate drug dealers just because people aren't smart enough to stay away from drugs. Maybe illegal drugs should be made legal, just as loan sharking is now legal.

"Based on that (people are willingly putting themselves in that position), loan sharking, prostitution, and gambling should be legalized."

Yes. At least, the religiously-neutral explanation of why they should be criminalized has been notably nonforthcoming.

Poor, Pay Day Lenders. I feel so sorry for them only being able to make money at 520% interest. Sounds like usury to me. The comment that if a person borrowed only about $10 and the interest would only be 18% he couldn't pay the wages of his employees. Yes he could, because there are thousands going to them, so a thousand times $1.80 is $1800. Most loans are probably for a week, so the poor Pay Day Lender only brings in $1800 a week of of his $10 loans. BooHoo, I am crying. He is using misinformation to make his point.

What we really need to do is bite the bullet and start paying our servicemen a starting wage of
$6,000 a month once they are out basic training. They are putting their life on the line and should be rewarded. Each grade or step advancement should be at least $5,000 a year. We either have to put up or shut up.

Oh, yes, by all means, push prostitution and the exploitation of women. Push gambling with its incredibly high rate of suicide and the ruin it pushes on families and society in general. Push drugs that addicts will spend money on rather than food for their children, when they remember they have children at all.

And, by all means, let payday loan companies continue to suck the blood out of their victims. Then, if they run out of blood, let them go for the marrow. We wouldn't want these "honest" business men to suffer, would we?