Mississippi Newspaper: Why Not Apply Military Payday Advance Caps to All?
By Paul RizzoPayday Loan Writer
As the Advocacy Director of the Mississippi Center for Justice, Yumeka Rushing, has a lot on her fiscal plate. The director recently found time to write in to the Meridian Star, however.
Here’s a paraphrasing of that letter:
The Department of Defense findings regarding the dangers of military payday loans should come as no surprise to Mississippians who live near the state’s numerous military bases.
Indeed, during the 2005 legislative session, state Rep. Ray Rogers (R-Rankin) recognized the problem and introduced a bill to prohibit check cashers from locating within 400 feet of any military installation. Unfortunately, that bill failed to even get out of committee, as did two others introduced by Sen. Gray Tollison (D-Lafayette) which would have begun to reign in the state’s payday cash advance lenders.
The Department of Defense report and Congress’ response begs the question:
- If our men and women in uniform need protection from predatory lenders, what about the rest of us?
Current Mississippi law allows providers of quick cash loans to collect fees equivalent to 468 percent APR, or 13 times the limit Congress found appropriate. And anyone with eyes to see knows that the 1,100 check cashers around Mississippi are targeting not only military bases but also low-income areas and communities of color.
If 37 percent APR is more than the market can fairly ask of Sgt. Jones, what’s fair for Mrs. Jones?
During the upcoming 2007 regular session, your legislators will have another opportunity to take a look at this critically important issue of cash advances. Bills introduced in both chambers will ask the state to gather information on how payday loans work for - and against - average Mississippians with an eye to the expiration of the Check Cashers Act in 2009. Another set of bills will seek to give local authorities some control over the growth of the industry in their communities.
I urge your readers to take the time to share their thoughts on the subject with their state representatives and senators before the legislative session begins in January. You can be sure that the cheap payday loan lenders will.
