Voters may decide fate of payday loans

[flashl]

The fight between state lawmakers and payday lenders has entered a new phase as the industry is attempting to get on the ballot this fall in Ohio and Arizona and take its case directly to voters.

Until now, the industry has largely confined its efforts to battling state legislatures, many of which have moved to protect borrowers who take out the short-term, high-interest loans. Ohio, New Hampshire and Virginia lawmakers approved payday reforms this year.

Now industry officials are trying a new tack. In Ohio, they are seeking a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot that would in effect reverse the Legislature’s action. In Arizona, an industry-led coalition is collecting signatures to qualify for a ballot initiative wiping out a state law that will shut down the industry in two years.

The strategy could be risky. If voters reject the ballot measures, opponents of payday lending say they would use the defeats to puncture the industry’s argument that such loans are popular with consumers who need small amounts of cash for emergencies. The borrower usually receives the cash after writing a personal check for the loan amount and a fee. The lender holds the check until the worker’s next payday, usually two to four weeks, when the borrower must pay off the debt.

But Steven Schlein, an industry spokesman, said polls show consumers don’t like it when legislators take away choices. “Once the message gets out that a financial option was taken away, Ohioans will not like it,” he said of the ballot proposal.

State Line

Sooooo, payday lenders are fighting for their mark's customer's rights against the evil lawmakers?

[VeraAgnes]

1. These "Payday Loans"

are managed by Loan Sharks!

Fuck-em!

[LiberalFighter]

2. I hope there is a campaign to soundly defeat the measures.

I don't believe that issues like these should be allowed on the ballot.

[2Design]

3. loan sharks and the the credit card companies are just thick as thieves n/t