Where are the laws in all this?

There are times when people complain about the number of laws there are in this country. How is anyone to keep track when Capitol Hill keeps adding new laws to the statute books? Even the lawyers find it hard to stay on top of all the changes. That leaves ordinary people with no chance at all. Yet, in some areas, the laws can be very helpful to ordinary people. They may not even need to know if government changes the way in which business is regulated.

The people can be protected without them ever being aware of it. So the lobbyists start to work. This is big government not little government. This is the nanny state not the rugged individualism that made the US such a great place to live. People should be allowed to stand or fall on their own without the state having to get involved. We have all heard it all before. And the reason this time? Well, there is a bill in the Senate proposing a national cap on the interest rates charged on consumer loans. The maximum annualized rate would be 36%. Needless to say, the loan industry is up in arms. It seems no-one can lend money and make a profit if interest is pegged at such a low figure.

So will the law change? Let us go back to 2006 when the Department of Defense persuaded Congress to impose the same cap on all loans made to military personnel. According to the DoD, the families of those in active service were being victimized. Many families were being forced to pay 400% and more in annual interest. Curiously, no-one chose to see the same rates being charged on loans to ordinary people. As it stands, only fifteen states have stepped in to protect their citizens. When people take cash advances against their next pay check, they are so easily caught in a spiral of debt they cannot escape. Those promoting the current bill justify the general cap by saying there will be no cost to the taxpayer and it will save billions of dollars from being sucked out of the pockets of the poorer members of our society.

We need to be clear about one thing. Payday loans do serve a useful function. When many are denied access to bank overdrafts and their credit rating is not good enough to get generous limits on their credit cards, these loans can bridge people when there is a financial emergency. The facility is available with few formalities, the money deposited in the bank account the next working day. It is a quick an easy solution to a short-term problem. But, as it stands, the lenders are acting in a predatory way, abusing those who are dependent on their loans. If the bill passes, the maximum interest chargeable on a payday loan will be 36% but states can enact lower limits. In Arkansas, for example, the cap is 17%. Help is on the way so long as the lobbyists do not sideline this protective measure.