Spokesperson Analyzes Georgia Payday Advance Bill
By Paul RizzoPayday Loan Writer
Niger Innis, National Spokesperson for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) writes a letter regarding House Bill-163 (HB-163)to Senators and Representatives in Georgia.
Below is the transcript of the letter Mr. Innis (pictured) wrote:
On February 1, 2007, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a proponent of regulated short-term loans, met with Georgia state officials to discuss House Bill-
163. HB-163 ensures that the citizens of Georgia would have a safe and regulated cash advance option that gives them increased protections, averts loans from being frequently renewed and, if needed, provides a payment plan option.
Because Georgia prohibits payday loans, it is estimated that over 30,000 Georgia residents have crossed the border into South Carolina and Tennessee to obtain such loans. The pending prohibition of [bad credit payday loans] in other states would ultimately force consumers to cross state lines, use Internet entities or loan sharks to address small, but, special financial needs.
CORE believes that the out-right prohibition of short-term [quick cash loans] could have a negative effect on our country similar to that of prohibition in the 1920’s, which was a miserable failure.
CORE Officials have been meeting with state legislators and minority leaders across the country to promote CORE’s Financial Literacy Choice and Awareness (FLCA) program. The FLCA campaign advocates a better understanding of personal finances by informing the public of the pitfalls and opportunities of various financial options. Further, the FLCA campaign promotes alliances with government, industry and the non-profit community to foster financial awareness and literacy.
CORE believes people should be able to make their own financial decisions, and that they are best able to do that when they are financially literate.
Representative Al Williams, Chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and Senator Margarita Prentice, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the Washington State Legislator are strong supporters of CORE’s FLCA campaign.
The domestic application of micro–credit/short-term [check cash advance loans] -an idea conceived by the Nobel Prize winning economists Dr. Mohammed Yunus for impoverished communities in developing countries–serves as the blueprint for CORE’s FLCA campaign. CORE believes that with proper enabling legislation the micro-credit/short-term loan industry could help to close a critical gap in our economy.
