Pay Day Loans

[DesertBerean]

Why shouldn't we just ban them outright, instead of "regulating" them???

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/03/27...html?referrer=

[KingsGambit]

Banning them outright may leave people who need emergency cash loans without any form of recourse (other than going to the casino and playing blackjack) so I wonder if they are a necessary evil.

The Kansas City Star had an editorial recently proposing the industry be shut down but that such people still have resources. However, they provided no suggestions.

[Cow Poke]

I hate it that so many of these pay day loan outfits take undue advantage of our Service Personnel, locating their dens of sin right next to military bases.

[Christianbookworm]

What about the usury component?

[Chaotic Void]

Banning them outright may leave people who need emergency cash loans without any form of recourse (other than going to the casino and playing blackjack) so I wonder if they are a necessary evil.

The Kansas City Star had an editorial recently proposing the industry be shut down but that such people still have resources. However, they provided no suggestions.

I'd honestly prefer it if we steered towards private charities that would be able to handle those things (interest free)... I know very little about it, but my church has a fund for people to borrow money from. As a related example, there are also other churches/groups (the Salvation Army, as well as an Anglican church) that provide grocery vouchers for people who can't afford food/hygiene products.

[DesertBerean]

One of the biggest obstacles for such charitable giving, from what I understand, is that they must report to IRS all income given to the beneficiaries, then the IRS knows the income those people get. Or so I understand

[Chaotic Void]

One of the biggest obstacles for such charitable giving, from what I understand, is that they must report to IRS all income given to the beneficiaries, then the IRS knows the income those people get. Or so I understand

I have to concede that I know very little of US tax law... but I'm not surprised that good old Tax Bureaucracy is a hurdle that would need to be overcome.

[Cow Poke]

One of the biggest obstacles for such charitable giving, from what I understand, is that they must report to IRS all income given to the beneficiaries, then the IRS knows the income those people get. Or so I understand

I've never heard of that. Our Church often hands out debit cards or grocery store cards, and helps with utilities. No reporting whatsoever.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Eight-Tips-to...ift-is-Taxable

[Truthseeker]

Government restrictions or regulations are often promoted as aiding the poor, or seem to aid them. In reality the poor come off worse than before. Sure, that seems counterintuitive, but I can explain. Wage floors are other examples of seeming to help the poor but leaving them worse off.

[Cow Poke]

What they REALLY need is a tutorial on budgeting, and sticking to a budget. Our church requires that they do that in exchange for us helping. They need to have skin in the game - no free lunch. (well, we DO provide a free lunch, but .... )

[Bill the Cat]

Sometimes, the best laid plans and budgets fail. I have been in that situation more than once. After I got called up for 9/11, my family income was slashed by 50%. Credit wasn't good enough and didn't have the collateral to use for a traditional loan when the SAME bills came due that I'd been paying for the past year and a half, and these folks were the only ones who would help. Didn't want a lecture from the in-laws about managing money either. They can be quite brutal and condescending. We borrowed what we needed one time for a term of about 6 months, then the wife finally found a job and we paid them back. Had they not been there, we would have lost both cars and the house.

They have their benefits for situations like mine, but they do need regulation, or the banks need to ease their approval requirements for circumstances like mine.

[Christianbookworm]

Sometimes, the best laid plans and budgets fail. I have been in that situation more than once. After I got called up for 9/11, my family income was slashed by 50%. Credit wasn't good enough and didn't have the collateral to use for a traditional loan when the SAME bills came due that I'd been paying for the past year and a half, and these folks were the only ones who would help. Didn't want a lecture from the in-laws about managing money either. They can be quite brutal and condescending. We borrowed what we needed one time for a term of about 6 months, then the wife finally found a job and we paid them back. Had they not been there, we would have lost both cars and the house.

They have their benefits for situations like mine, but they do need regulation, or the banks need to ease their approval requirements for circumstances like mine.

Like an interest rate no higher than say 10%?

[KingsGambit]

Like an interest rate no higher than say 10%?

I don't know if that's realistic because the risk of default is so high, but if it was, I would like that.

[Christianbookworm]

I don't know if that's realistic because the risk of default is so high, but if it was, I would like that.

I just picked a random number. What do you think a good interest rate would be?

[Sparko]

I just picked a random number. What do you think a good interest rate would be?

200%


But then I am a pirate.