Posted on 04/16/2009 6:45:04 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Words are not the only things that enable political rhetoric to magically transform reality. Numbers can be used just as creatively-- and many voters are even more gullible about statistics than they are about words, apparently because statistics seem more objective.
The latest Congressional crusade is to clamp down on small finance companies that provide "payday loans" and check-cashing services in many low-income neighborhoods where there are few banks.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
The rates charged for payday loans aren’t that different from those that have for centuries been charged by pawnshops, which average somewhere around 85%.
The major difference is that payday loans don’t have physical collateral, and therefore quite reasonably expect a somewhat higher interest rate to cover defaults.
Not that much different than bail bonds.
$15 per hundred dollars lent is a better rate than what the slush funds on the ships I was on in the ‘80s used to charge for a 2 week loan.
Thanks for the ping jaz.
I used to have to pay $6 for $5 when ever I ran low between paydays.
Just like real estate, a lot depended on location. You paid significantly more for a loan in Subic or Hong Kong than you did in Long Beach or San Diego. We had an N division slush fund we used the profits from to finance divisional parties. We mostly loaned to the OSs-robbing them blind didn’t make us feel bad at all. $25 for $40 or $50 for $75. How bad do you want cash when you’ve already blown your paycheck and the ship is inport Subic for another week?
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