(Truly regrettable metaphor. And remember, payday lending references always help you get promoted. - promoted by Colorado Pols)
More and more Colorado lawmakers are getting a handle on the harmful impact of payday lending.
You borrow money in an emergency. And then you can get in trouble.
That simple explanation parallels the experience of many hard-working Coloradans who have paid millions of dollars in excessive fees to payday lenders.
Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, is facing an ethics violation over alleged improper use of his campaign funds.
A colleague, Rep. Mark Waller, came to his defense, explaining that King had car problems and didn't have $1,025 to rent a car. "He says, 'Let me borrow from the campaign account,' " explained Waller, R-Colorado Springs.
"It's a payday loan from the campaign account," Waller said.
Waller understands the insidious hook used by the payday industry: When you get in a jam, go to a payday lender. They are on practically every corner -- operating more stores than McDonald's and Starbucks combined.
But if King had gone to a real payday lender, he would have had to take out two loans for the maximum of $500 each. That would have cost him $150.
King wasn't reimbursed for about two months. That means he would have had to renew his loans every two weeks. Remember, no partial payments with payday loans; it's pay in full or take out another loan.
King would have gone back to his payday lenders four times, and in the end, he would have paid $750 to borrow $1,000. |
