New Radio Ad Targets Payday Lenders

Published May 31 2012, 11:41 AM by David Scharfenberg

A bill in the General Assembly would crack down on payday lenders in Rhode Island. Here's the script of the new radio ad, paid for by a coalition of unions, minority advocacy groups, religious organizations, and anti-poverty advocates:

This is Reverend Don Anderson, executive minister for the Rhode Island Council of Churches.

260 percent annual interest rates . . . that’s what out-of-state payday lenders can legally charge in Rhode Island.

Payday loan companies won a special deal from the Rhode Island legislature to charge over seven times Rhode Island’s traditional usury limits.

Payday lenders have built a business model trapping Rhode Islanders into an endless cycle of debt, resulting in millions of dollars being siphoned out of the Rhode Island economy and into the coffers of faraway payday lenders.

Every faith tradition I know prohibits exploiting the poor. Common sense tells me that 260 percent interest rates are bad for everyone.

On behalf of a coalition of over 40 community organizations, please contact your state legislator. Contact Speaker Gordon Fox and Senate President Pavia Weed and tell them no more special deals . . . it’s time to (re)cap payday loan interest rates.