Comments on: The Rant | Free market forces, sure http://augustafreepress.com/2009/12/31/the-rant-free-market-forces-sure/ The Valley. Virginia. Defined. News from AugustaFreePress.com. Sat, 26 May 2012 20:02:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Jay Speer http://augustafreepress.com/2009/12/31/the-rant-free-market-forces-sure/comment-page-1/#comment-101565 Jay Speer Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:18:14 +0000 http://augustafreepress.com/?p=16666#comment-101565 I also was upset when I read that sentence. But I don't think Governor Kaine has sold out to the industry. I think he is pushing the alternatives such as the employee loan product and not realizing that the payday lenders may use his words as sound bites in the future. I am all in favor of products and programs to help people in financial duress (especially now) and the programs Gov Kaine is discussing are good ones. But DO NOT call them payday loan alternatives. You don't need alternatives to scams. That is the fundamental problems with the sentence you are raving about--it elevates payday lending to just another product offered to meet a demand when the truth is that it is dressed up to look like that but is just another scam designed to take money from desperate people. Remember that 92% or payday borrowers in Virginia are REPEAT BORROWERS. I also was upset when I read that sentence. But I don’t think Governor Kaine has sold out to the industry. I think he is pushing the alternatives such as the employee loan product and not realizing that the payday lenders may use his words as sound bites in the future. I am all in favor of products and programs to help people in financial duress (especially now) and the programs Gov Kaine is discussing are good ones. But DO NOT call them payday loan alternatives. You don’t need alternatives to scams. That is the fundamental problems with the sentence you are raving about–it elevates payday lending to just another product offered to meet a demand when the truth is that it is dressed up to look like that but is just another scam designed to take money from desperate people. Remember that 92% or payday borrowers in Virginia are REPEAT BORROWERS.

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