Payday lending reforms could die
Some South Carolina lawmakers said the Legislature's best shot in years at passing payday lending restrictions could soon die.
Republican Sen. Larry Martin of Pickens urged his colleagues to compromise, arguing it would be better than allowing the industry's practices of preying on the poor to continue unabated. Republican Sen. David Thomas of Greenville said that if senators couldn't reach a consensus Tuesday, the issue is likely dead.
But Sen. Gerald Malloy said the Senate still has six legislative days to hash out a substantive reform bill. The Hartsville Democrat said the industry is "simply out of control" in a poor state with one of the nation's worst unemployment rates.
Industry advocates argue the regulations will cut into consumer's choices in dealing with short-term financial problems.
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mb300sl (anonymous) says...
Think maybe some lobbyists have gotten into mthe mix? Our state legislature is pathetic....
May 13, 2009 at 7:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
psnead (anonymous) says...
mb300sl -
The SC Legislature has proven itself to be in the pocket of this evil "industry." Since this is a given, we can rely only on ourselves and our fellow voters if we want any decent legislation enacted. There is one week left.
I have sent McConnell several emails on this, starting in March, and have had no reply, even though he's President pro tem of the Senate and serves on the Banking Committee (which incidentally stripped the bill of most meaningful provisions before sending it out of Committee). I have sent letters to the editor of the P & C that have not seen the light of day.
AARP in SC has been very good about pushing this issue. Two days ago, I get an alert from AARP that the Senate will pass absolutely no reform in this area "because they say they are not hearing from constituents."
A sad day indeed when supposedly prinipled men and women (our state representatives) cannot bring themselves to do what is so patently "the right thing" unless there is some sort of public uprising.
It's not just pathetic in my opinion, it's downright shameful and infuriating. Payday lending is the current-day equivalent of tenant or sharecropper farming in my opinion. It's nothing but the good old boys winking at extortion of the disadvantaged who are either too uneducated to understand or too desperate to care, that payday loans are just the short route to financial enslavement.
There is no meaningful difference between the cycle of payday lending and that of "protection" payments to the mob -- except that our legal version gets poorer people in deeper trouble, faster.
I hope anyone reading these posts will take a moment to pick up the phone and call McConnell or whomever your Senator might be, to tell him that the Senate's behavior on this issue shames all of us in South Carolina!
McConnell is:
Work (843) 747-7554
Home (843) 571-3921
Columbia (803) 212-6610
Other Senator contact info is readily available at:
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/html-page...
The State has a good article about the bill in its current form: ( http://www.thestate.com/local/story/7... )
May 13, 2009 at 2:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
psnead (anonymous) says...
from psnead (follow up)
I have just spoken with Sen McConnell's secretary, a woman named Becky who sounded like a fine person and said she would communicate to the Senator my hope that he will vote in favor of reform. She stated that the Senator shared my concern for the most financially disadvantaged of his constituents. I told her that if the Senator voted in favor of the current bill I would demonstrate my appreciation in writing.
I have also sent an LTE (Letter to the Editor) encouraging other voters to do the same, wherever in South Carolina they might read my letter. I hope this one will see the light of day!
I often fear that, since direct contact with a legislator is rare for most of us, our legislators must feel that the only folks who care are the lobbyists. We really need to remember that, at least once upon a time, all these folks ran for office because they genuinely wished to represent their neighbors. They deserve a better quality of attention from us.
That said, I am not seeking to become McConnell's best friend . . . but I am vowing to pick up the phone (or the laptop) more often.
May 13, 2009 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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