03
Jul

Payday Loan & Check Cashers-Consumer Protectionists Know What’s Best for All of Us

Once again, the people who know what’s best for all of us have restricted our financial choices. We cannot continue to open payday loan and check cashing stores in Long Beach. So, Long Beach City residents will continue to pay the maximum fees prescribed by law for these services.

During the past several weeks we had noticed a few payday loan stores in Long Beach beginning to offer reduced fees and even “free first time loans”. You can bet these grandfathered locations will soon cease to offer deals like these to Long Beach consumers. Why should they? With less competition they won’t need to.

Less payday loan and check cashing stores will mean fewer jobs, less city taxes, less oversight, fewer choices and more. The city fathers surely don’t think they’ve reduced demand for payday loan and check cashing services do they? They have simply forced more consumers to drive a little farther, perhaps even to a nearby city, or worse, to apply for a payday loan on the Internet.

Long Beach passed an ordinance to restrict the growth of new check cashers and payday lenders in the city.

On July 1, the City Council voted on a six-month moratorium prohibiting the approval of new check cashing and payday lending businesses. The moratorium directly addresses the social and economic impacts these businesses have on the community by stemming their expansion. (Again, they may slow their expansion BUT there remains a HUGE demand for these products!)

The California Reinvestment Coalition and other fair lending advocates (read overly zealous consumer protectionists who THINK they know what’s best for ALL OF US.) across the state are campaigning for local land use ordinances in major California cities, and for a statewide interest rate cap on payday loans. (This will simply force Californians to drive, walk, bus, hike to another state or use the Internet to get their money or cash their check.)

“Payday lenders charge borrowers outrageous interest and fees, which often trap consumers in an inescapable cycle of debt,” said Liana Molina an organizer with the California Reinvestment Coalition. “It’s significant that the City of Long Beach is using their authority to restrict the growth of these businesses.” (Same ol’ BS. Have you ever heard of an independent study documenting complaints by payday loan and check cashing customers complaining about “outrageous interest and fees”?)

The City Council already approved a moratorium on new payday lenders and check cashers in the downtown area, which went into effect April 22. The ordinance approved by the Council 6-3 on July 1 will extend that moratorium citywide, including all redevelopment project areas.

The California Reinvestment Coalition advocates for the right of low-income communities and communities of color to have fair and equal access to banking and other financial services. CRC has a membership of more than 250 nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the State.
SOURCE California Reinvestment Coalition

http://www.calreinvest.org

When will these people decide it is illegal for me to purchase more than 3 Mc’Donalds burgers each week? Or wear a seat belt? Or hands free cell phones? Or I must have auto insurance? Or smoke free restaurants and work places?

Why can’t they just leave it up to me to frequent the businesses and services I want to support? Oh, I forgot! THEY know what’s best for me.

Jer@PaydayLoanIndustry.com

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