subject: What Is The Controversy Surrounding Pay Day Loans? [print this page] Perhaps you have seen news stories on TV or online about public action groups or legislatures decrying the availability of pay day loans in a particular area. If you haven't seen news like that, now you will probably notice it, since I have brought the controversy to your attention. In this article I am going to share my perspective on the issue.
The primary concern of private citizens and publically elected state legislators is that the interest rates and fees associated with pay day loan lenders are much higher than interest rates available at banks and credit unions. This is an undeniable fact, and my personal opinion is not denying the truth of the matter. However, the fact that an industry charges high interest rates is not in itself illegal or immoral. High late fees are very common, and gambling is legal in many areas. Those are just two examples of other situations that engender public outcry because some people suffer as a result of big late fees, and many, many people suffer as a result of legalized gambling.
But for some reason, a certain percentage of the population sees the high interest rates and fees charged by lenders making pay day loans as inappropriate, they need to take some time to look at the different features of fast loans. I have said many times and I'll say once again here that you can be sure the people who are against these short-term, single-pay loans are not the same people who need to make use of them, and therefore they are not really in a position to judge. The public outcry against gambling doesn't stop people from gambling, and public outcry against single-pay loans is not going to stop them.
My point here is pretty obvious - making use of cash advance loans is a personal choice. It is a choice that may be made out of desperation, but that is not something that can be legislated out of existence. We all get ourselves into a financial bind one way or the other, from time to time. State legislatures cannot stop that from happening. And the public cannot stop it with simple good intentions, either. What any one of us does, whatever we choose to do about our financial hardships is not for the public or the state legislature to determine.
If a quick loan customer is not capable of reading the English documentation for any reason, or is obviously impaired in a way that would interfere with clear understanding of the loan terms and repayment responsibility, then I certainly think it is not appropriate to make a loan to that person because he or she will be at a disadvantage. But if any customer comes into a loan store or gets on a website online and makes a personal choice to take out a loan, as far as I'm concerned, that's his or her own business, not mine or yours.
