Payday Lending Lobby Spends Nearly $14 Million in Ohio on Issue 5!
Campaign finance reports were filed with the Ohio Secretary of State today, suggesting that pro-consumer advocates were vastly outspent by the out-of-state lobby schlepping for the payday lending industry. According to the Secretary of State's office, the Reject House Bill 545 Committee spent $13,800,396.35 in the period leading up to the general election. With almost 2 weeks left, the industry reportedly still has about $1.3 million in cash on hand to spend.
The Is 391% Too High? Vote Yes on 5 Committee, on the other hand, raised only $265,822.09. The total amount spent thus far was $261,765.24. The largest expenditure on the pro-consumer side was $237,991.87 for the production and placement of only ONE commercial.
It is now clear that the payday lending industry is attempting to purchase a ‘No' vote on Issue 5 so that they can continue to charge 391% APR interest. Between the potential $15 million spent in Ohio and the roughly $12 million in Arizona on the payday lending ballot initiative there, it conceivable that the payday lending industry's campaign expenditures for this season will exceed $30 million.
Here is the Yes on 5 Campaign's response:
YES on Issue 5 Responds
To Payday Lending $13.8 Million Campaign
Expense Report
October 23, 2008
The following statement can be attributed to Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and treasurer of the Vote YES on Issue 5 Campaign:
"$13.8 million is a staggering figure that shows just how much the national payday lending lobby is willing to spend to try to buy this election and continue charging financially stretched borrowers 391 percent annual interest. Issue 5 is about corporate greed, period.
"The Yes on Issue 5 Campaign spent $260,438.02 during the same period. This is a David vs. Goliath battle. Voters need to know that a YES vote on 5 lowers outrageous interest rates. It's the stone that stops the giant industry.''
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