PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE Editorial: The effort to expand payday lending in Pennsylvania may be over for this year, but the measure is too lucrative to lenders for it to be declared dead. Consumers must make sure state lawmakers don’t revive it next year.
The short-term lending industry offers a dangerous combination of easy access to money at astronomical interest rates. A study by the Pew Center on the States showed that 5.5 percent of adults nationwide have used a payday loan in the past five years, with the average borrower taking out eight loans a year and spending $520 on interest on an average loan of $375.
Although advocates for legalizing payday lending claim the short-term borrowing helps people get through tough, unexpected financial setbacks, the Pew survey refuted that. The report says that 69 percent of borrowers use the loans to help them cover everyday expenses such as utilities, credit card bills, rent, mortgages or food… (more)
