Question description
Interest
Group – Payday Lending
In
most neighborhoods, especially low-income neighborhoods, you don’t have to look
far to see signs advertising “payday loans” and “title
loans.” In my old neighborhood, Spring Branch, it seems like there are two
or three per block the entire length of Long Point.
Consumer
groups hate these places, accusing them of preying on poor people. A United Way
spokesman noted examples in the Houston Chronicle, including a “$480 payday
loan that soon saw a family paying $186 in interest and fees every two weeks; a
$300 loan on which a borrower, three months later, owed $700.”
On
the other hand, borrowers who use payday and title loans often have poor credit
histories, or no credit history at all, and may have few options. For some
consumers, a high-interest payday loan on the day rent is due may be a better
and cheaper alternative than getting evicted.
A
large coalition of churches and consumer groups, the Texas Fair Lending Alliance,
has pushed the Texas Legislature and city government throughout the state to
crack down on what they see as predatory lending practices. The Consumer Service
Alliance of Texas represents payday and title lending companies.
Earlier
this year, Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) filed S.B. 121, which would have imposed state-wide restrictions on
payday lending.
Your
assignment, write a 3 – 5 page essay (college-level, double-spaced, etc.)
explaining:
1.
What you would do to help get this bill passed if you were representing
consumer groups.
2.
What you would do to change or defeat this bill if you were representing payday
and title lenders.
3.
Finally, how you would respond to these groups, their arguments and activities
if you were a state legislator.
**Remember, the assignment
is about interest groups. Don’t focus on what a rip-off you think payday loans
are, or on how consumers ought to be free to make their own choices and how
government isn’t supposed to be everybody’s mom. Focus on how you would manage
the issue on behalf of each of the two interest groups.
Submit
in Word. Best paper writer websites, Custom term paper writing service and Research papers owl essays – Professional help in research projects for students – Cite your sources.
Additional Resources
The
Texas Tribune covered the legislature’s efforts on this issue: https://essays.homeworkacetutors.com/write-my-essay/texastribune.org/2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service/04/29/lawmakers-lend-ear-concerns-about-payday-loans/
The
Dallas Morning News talked about it on their blog: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service/04/lawmakers-face-long-odds-in-effort-to-crackdown-on-predatory-lending.html/
Note:
it says something about this issue that, as you do research for this essay, Google
“payday loans” at your own risk. Prepare to be deluged with ads
trying to sell you one.
