Combatants on Opposite End of Payday Loan Spectrum Square Off
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
Holly Mullen is a writer for The Salt Lake Tribune.
James Evans is the chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party.
Evans is also the owner of three instant payday loan businesses in Salt Lake County: Check Line, Check Action and Rainbow Check Cashing. When Mullen questioned Evans about the industry, tensions ran strong.
Evans, an African-American, immediately grew testy when asked about whether or not resources such as no fax payday loans prey on the poor.
"This is like what I grew up with in the South. I swear in my heart of hearts when you go against a certain group of people, liberals, they'll come back with, 'How can you even be doing this? How can you be a black man and a Republican and do this?' "It's almost as if I can't be a Republican and have my own values."
The fact is, Evans makes a living charging desperate people - many of them people of color - near-usury interest rates for quickie personal loans. Last year, when Republican state Rep. David Hogue sponsored legislation to cap interest rates at 8 percent for extension periods on repaying those loans, Evans was among members of the Utah Consumer Loan Association (the industry's lobby group) fighting it.
Hogue's bill died. No big surprise there.
According to numerous consumer protection organizations, of the 39 states with a legal faxless payday loan industry, Utah is among 10 states with no ceiling on interest rates. So in 29 states, consumers get a little protection from loan sharks.
In this state, those sharks are considered smart entrepreneurs.
It's pretty simple. If Evans, a public figure and major GOP player in this state, wants to run with the big dogs and argue racism in the process, he can explain how quick cash loans at 500 percent interest a year are not a form of slavery.
September 5th, 2006 at 1:48 am
What could nearly be the cost to incur for setting-up an affiliates program?
September 5th, 2006 at 1:49 am
I’m not too sure but would like to figure this out as a business venture.