Posted on 01/24/2008 7:21:04 AM PST by shrinkermd
The American dream is founded on the belief that people who work hard and play by the rules will be able to earn a good living...
But that dream is harder to achieve for millions of Americans because they spend too much of their hard-earned money on fees to cash their paychecks or pay off high-priced loans meant to carry them over until they get paid at work.
Here is one initiative that can unite progressives and conservatives as well as business leaders and community activists: helping the "unbanked" enter the financial mainstream by opening checking and savings accounts, and working collaboratively with financial institutions and community groups to develop and market products that work for this untapped market. This will put money in the pockets of individuals and grow the economy. And it won't cost taxpayers a dime.
Imagine the economic and social benefits of putting more than $8 billion in the hands of low- and middle-income Americans. That is the amount millions of people now spend each year at check-cashing outlets, payday lenders and pawnshops on basic financial services that most Americans receive for free -- or very little cost -- at their local bank or credit union. Over a lifetime, the average full-time, unbanked worker will spend more than $40,000 just to turn his or her salary into cash.
....Today, the number of check cashers, payday lenders and pawnshops is more than double the number of McDonald's franchises in the United States. More than 20 million Americans cash more than $60 billion in checks each year at check-cashing businesses. Full-time workers without a checking account typically pay $40 on average to cash their paychecks.(?) And payday lenders sell an additional $40 billion in expensive small-dollar loans each year that carry fees 30 times the average credit-card rate.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Payday lenders/cash checking firms may be a steal, but they are the price you pay for letting thugs rule the neighborhood.
If the risk of armed robbery in an area is high, then the locals get stuck with payday lenders.
Coming soon, “subprime” bank accounts.
I was shocked when I saw the title of this article, that is until I saw who had authored it. I thought that the B of A was in trouble for extending credit to illegals, now they want all banks to do the same.
We are already in a credit crunch because the Clinton administration forced the extension of credit to undeserving people who could not afford to repay their debt.
I’ve had a problem with harassing calls from collection agencies for an Hispanic woman who had my telephone number about five years ago. I finally told them that if they stopped extending credit to illegals, they might not have such a problem tracking them down.
“This will put money in the pockets of individuals and grow the economy. And it won’t cost taxpayers a dime.”
And both authors will argue to the end that tax cuts will NOT do that. No, the only way to go is create a phantom tax increase to pull off this sleight of hand. Gotta love liberals, like arnold.
Brought to you by the same democratic congress that gave you subprime mortgages!
My bet would be on #2, by a country mile.
And those folks take the haircut twice once to cash the paycheck; then again to send remittances south to the family in the old country.
YEP!!!!!
I can’t think of one bank that doesn’t want more business however
rules are rules. Are the Feds gonna force banks to open accounts
regardless of well established rules of business? Reminds me of
the push to lower lending rules for no income check, and arm’s
to get folks home loans. That’s going well huh?
There is a reason that the pay day loan places thrive in areas where there is a heavy concentration of illegals.
Payday loan customers are not “unbanked”—they have to have a checking account to take out a loan in the first place. Every single payday loan customer has an account with a bank or credit union. The reality is that payday loan customers use the product to avoid the overdraft and other more expensive fees they receive from their bank or credit union.
Of course, to state the rest of the obvious. This ridiculous program is pure politics. duh.
I think it's just one step in the plan to turn off the radar.
Many payday loan outfits are located around military bases so they can target our fighting men and women.
Charging exorbitant interest is a sin and should be illegal.
OMG!! OMG!!! THIS is why the housing market is in a semi-meltdown!!! Demanding that people who were TOO POOR or bad credit risks MUST be abke to "buy" homes!!!
If this goes thru, look for the banking business to go KAPUT also!!
WHAT has happened to MY once-smart AMerica???
I’m really old fashioned and I go to the bank every friday to deposit my check in person and withdraw some walking around cash to get my by until the following friday. I am always amazed the number of people in line in front of me that are there simply to cash their entire paycheck and don’t have a bank account of any kind. THey have to pay a fee to cash the check and it is not a small fee. I always hear the teller say the same thing...”if you open an account with us today you won’t have to pay the fee”. And they always decline and pay the fee. THey get fingerprinted too. It’s amazing. I forget what the fee is but it isn’t small. I think it’s 5%. These aren’t always dumb kids or mexicans either. THEy are often middle aged white men with apparently fairly good paying blue collar jobs...quality steel toe boots and coveralls and a fairly decent pickup.
This is the modal, illegal, Mexican alien as he has been mainstreamed by US corporations.
If someone wanted to dismantle America, its sovereignty, traditions, social/cultural integrity, undercut its strengths and viability... they could not do better than to take a step like this.
Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a Winner!
Seriously, I must have never been poor enough to have this problem, and I don't want to burn the time reading this. I walk up to a bank, put $10 down for "free checking" and get a debit card along with lots of other free stuff. What is so hard about getting a checking account?
“What is so hard about getting a checking account?”
Nothing, if you are a citizen!!!
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