Clinton & Schwarzenegger Support Cap on Payday Loan Interest Rates
Since we're only one week away from the November 4th Election Day, it's time to highlight a Wall Street Journal opinion piece co-written by President Bill Clinton and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The piece ran back in late January and showcases the bipartisan manner in which Ohio's payday lending reform legislation passed and the manner in which it should be supported next Tuesday.
"The American dream is founded on the belief that people who work hard and play by the rules will be able to earn a good living, raise a family in comfort and retire with dignity."
"But that dream is harder to achieve for millions of Americans because they spend too much of their hard-earned money on fees to cash their paychecks or pay off high-priced loans meant to carry them over until they get paid at work."
"Here is one initiative that can unite progressives and conservatives as well as business leaders and community activists: helping the "unbanked" enter the financial mainstream by opening checking and savings accounts, and working collaboratively with financial institutions and community groups to develop and market products that work for this untapped market. This will put money in the pockets of individuals and grow the economy. And it won't cost taxpayers a dime."
"Imagine the economic and social benefits of putting more than $8 billion in the hands of low- and middle-income Americans. That is the amount millions of people now spend each year at check-cashing outlets, payday lenders and pawnshops on basic financial services that most Americans receive for free -- or very little cost -- at their local bank or credit union. Over a lifetime, the average full-time, unbanked worker will spend more than $40,000 just to turn his or her salary into cash."
To read the rest of the Wall Street Journal piece, please click here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120113610711211855.html
Bill Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger support a rate cap on payday loans. In Ohio, Democratic Governor Ted Strickland came together with Republican Senate President Bill Harris, Republican Speaker Jon Husted and Republican Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Securities Committee Chairman Chris Widener to pass House Bill 545. House Bill 545 caps interest rates on payday loans at 28% APR, down from 391% APR and ends the debt trap for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. The bill passed the House & Senate overwhelmingly in a bipartisan fashion and now the industry wants to overturn it.
Additionally, both Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama voted in support of S.B. 2766, a defense reauthorization bill that included the Talent-Nelson amendment, which caps interest rates on payday loans at 36% APR for military personnel and their families. This amendment passed at the behest of the Pentagon, which found that due to the concentration of payday lending stores near military bases, payday-lending debt was negatively impacting troop readiness and morale.
So, on November 4th, please consider the overwhelming bipartisan support that Issue 5 has received and VOTE YES ON ISSUE 5!
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