[DB]

“His proposal also includes extending the 36-percent limit on payday loans to military members to all Americans”

36%???

That’s obscene.

What fool would do that?

[RockinRight]

Well right now they’re about 300% on “payday loans.” But it’s a two-week loan so it’s not exactly a fair comparison.

[CurlyDave]

While I am no big defender of the payday loan "industry", lets think for a minute about what a 36% interest rate really means.

Suppose you find yourself urgently in need of $100 for a week, until your next paycheck.

Now suppose I have an extra $100 and am willing to loan it to you, but need to charge you just $5 to cover the cost of making out the forms, keeping track of the transaction, etc.

Now, to me, $5 seems like a very low charge for a loan like this, but it really amounts to 260% per year.

36% will drive most payday lenders out of business. Maybe good, maybe bad, but I can guarantee you people go to payday lenders because they need the service. Drive them out of business and the poor will be worse off than they are today.