Payday lending faces tough new restrictions by consumer agency, By Stacy Cowley, October 5, 2017, New York Times: “A federal agency on Thursday imposed tough new restrictions on so-called payday lending, dealing a potentially crushing blow to an industry that churns out billions of dollars a year in high-interest loans to working-class and poor Americans. The rules announced by the agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are likely to sharply curtail the use of payday loans, which critics say prey on the vulnerable through their huge fees…”
Day: October 6, 2017
Homelessness – Michigan
Report: Michigan homelessness drops 9 percent, By Michael Gerstein, October 4, 2017, Detroit News: “Almost 2,700 Michigan homeless residents last year found stable housing in 2016, leading to a 9 percent drop in the state’s population, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority said Wednesday…”
State Children’s Health Insurance Program
States scramble to overcome Congress’ failure to move on CHIP, By Michael Ollove, October 6, 2017, Stateline: “By failing to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program before last week’s deadline, Congress has nudged the state of Minnesota toward a painful solution to the loss of federal funds: Unless it can find $95 million, the state said it will continue to provide full health care for certain low-income pregnant women in the program, while either reducing the number of children eligible for CHIP or scaling back their benefits. That is the sort of agonizing choice that all states in the country will face in the coming months unless Congress acts quickly to restore federal funding to a program that is immensely popular with both parties…”