Arkansas Blog

A$a's right. Beebe's on the wrong side of the issue, and a sleazy issue it is. Poor people are already at the bottom of the totem pole, and to be a part of a system that actively works to puts them into debt at unconscionable rates is bad, bad, bad.

I'm surprised to see A$a coming out in favor of restrictions on free trade and transferral of wealth to the rich, however. Up in NWA, that's called communism.

Roland is absolutely right. Beebe needs to give the money back to the payday lenders and put as much distance as possible between him and them. I believe Beebe is going to be our next governor, but I hope the Arkansas Times and others will keep pounding on Beebe until he separates himself from these ghouls.

So, tell me how banks are more altruistic than payday lenders when they can assess overdraft charges that might run $50 on a $5.00 overage?

There are people out there among us who do not have bank accounts where they would bed permitted to "float" a loan by writing a check for more than the amount of money than they currently have in a checking account. I don't believe for a minute that payday lenders/check-cashers are any worse that those lechers at a bank.

Just an aside:

Did you notice on today's DOG editorial page how they kept writing "Asa!" with an exclamation point every time? Was he born with that or is it something the DOG bequeaths on its favorites?
Journalism sure has changed since I went to school.

Jake!!!

If I were a mayor or the director of a chamber of commerce, I would probably be happy to tout the number of banks and savings institutions in my city, but I wouldn't mention the number of payday lenders. If Mike Beebe thinks a defense of "the banks are just as bad" would deflect criticism, let him trot it out. (I really don't think he will try that ploy.)

I don't believe for a minute that payday lenders/check-cashers are any worse that those lechers at a bank."

Old Blue Eyes,

With all due respect (and presuming you are not a payday lender trying to muddy the water) you are comparing apples and oranges.

An overdraft fee and similar fees such as late payment fees for credit cards and mortgages are incurred only as a penalty for not abiding by the terms of the transaction.

There is no late fee if a credit card payment or mortgage payment is made on time. There is no bounced check fee if there is sufficient money in the account to cover the check.

With a payday loan, strictly abiding by the terms of the loan results in a financial shellacking--paying on average $800 for a $325 loan. Follow the terms of a payday loan and get gouged.

Don't believe the smoke and mirrors. Payday lenders are loan sharks that happen to have legislative protection at the moment. Mike Beebe and the Democrats should be ashamed of taking money from them. This certainly counteracts any credibility Mike Beebe is trying to cultivate as "standing up for the little guy."

Attorney General Beebe, Representative McDaniel, Congressman Ross and whoever is in charge of the Arkansas Democratic Party--historically, the Democratic Party, from FDR in the 30s to JFK and LBJ in the 60s to Bill Clinton in the '90s-- has fought on behalf of the underdog against monied interests who prey on those who can least afford to be victimized.

If you truly want to "stand up for the little guy," all of you will return every red cent of this blood money--and pledge not to accept another penny of it ever again. The proud history of the Democratic Party in Arkansas and the nation demands no less.

Think I'm about half way between Old Blue Eye's position and that of muckraker. I have never done biz with a payday lender but I know a few people that have no other choice but to use them and take it in the rear...year after year after year.

Anything over what....15%....20% interest is or should be criminal. Bank fees are out of control, but muckraker has a point, if one controls one's financial life perfectly you don't have to pay large fees...as uh...punishment for being a moron.

But most people are not like my late mother in law who did money and bill paying faultlessly, though she was totally incapable of engaging in a human relationship with anyone. Most of us goof up now and then and pay dearly for it.

A few years ago banks ran off their less desirable customers, most of which had no choice but to use check cashing stores and payday lenders. And because of that I can't see X-ing all payday lenders. What are the poor folks going to do without them? Will the banks open their arms and welcome these people they kicked out, back into the fold? Not on your life. Banks are not your buddy or your friend either.

What if some legislative body grew some teeth and enacted some laws that prevented payday lenders from charging up to 400% interest? Isn't that one of the jobs of our elected officials....to keep shysters from ripping off the not so bright among us?

My friends who use payday lenders aren't the swiftest brains in the box. They can't manage their money, never could, never will. Because of the trouble they are to do business with, I understand that payday lenders will want to charge higher interest than banks to cover the cost of putting up with folks like my friends. But.....400%? I think not.

It's pretty obvious the payday lenders pay off the right people in Arkansas government. They rarely follow Arkansas laws concerning their business practices. But Arkansas government is sorta looking the other direction. Sounds like a payoff to me.

If you want to learn more about how payday lenders work and cheat and how Arkansas government isn't minding the store, click on my name and it should take you to a PDF explaining the whole shooting match.

All above is very good, but what bank will make a $300 loan?....Oh yeah, a $300 unsecured loan?

Jake da Snake,

It might not be the demozette's editorial staff.

A little hacking and inserting "Asa!" to replace "Asa" whenever encountered in a mandatory supplemental spelling dictionary could cause Asa! to appear. With a little judicial context sensing, "Asa Hutchinson" would appear normal.

As illustrated in the Colin Powell thread by the Princeton.edu video, you have to be very careful of your computer and what someone else can stick into it. Welcome to the 21st Century.

Well, my dog is itchin to get into this fight though seems feeding time has past.

The best way a Party or office holder can get into EVERYBODY's pocket is via Public Service Commission, those public servants who review rate requests from monopolistic utilities.

Ask Beebe, Bryan, Hutchinson, Lyndall who they would appoint, their criteria for appointments.
I live about 50 straight miles from Okla line. When you cross it your utilities rates drop considerably. Why?

Clinton's PSC board kept a lid on rate increases. Now , seems 12% return is not enough. I realize Central Ark is strapped with Mid-South or Entergy bs upheld by SCOTUS but there's gas, phone, as well.
So the Payday boys get to a few unwitting, unskilled $ people with outrageous charges. But public utilities get to everyone of us.
_

Nice thinking Lwood. Nothing has actually hurt my family more than this new addition to my electric bill, the energy recovery cost. It suddenly showed up immediately after the big ice storm in 2000 or was it 2001...I'm too beat up to remember.

Often a higher amount than the charge for the electricity we've actually used, it has doubled my bill each month. Not 9-11, not illegal immigration, not Katrina....nothing has impacted our lives in this house more than skyrocketing utility bills. The long arms of monopolies are choking us to death.

The 571 dollars I spent for electricity at my house for the month of August has removed the extras from our dinner table. Soon the gas bill will be my families personal Katrina. At the rate we're going in the near future my family will have to hold a meeting and decide which one of us has to move out or be killed in order to make it possible to live on the money brought in each month. No need for all of us to go down the drain.

I didn't think growing up I would ever face the need to kill family members just to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter, but it's about come to that. I am hoping Governor Beebe will decriminalize utility driven mercy killing. We live in the dark, we cool just enough to not sit in our own sweat 24/7, we heat just above the suffering mark, we cannot conserve more.

The only alternative is to reduce family members as humanely as possible. Jesus died on the cross, I'm hanging from my electric meter. Jesus had it better.