Payday lenders giving lobbyists big paydays to stop interest cap, By Cary Spivak and Patrick Marley, August 2, 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The latest bid to regulate Wisconsin’s payday lending industry is turning into a big bonanza for the Madison lobbying corps, as more than two dozen influence-peddlers fight a proposed 36% cap on interest rates. At stake is the future of the much-maligned industry that provides small short-term loans with double-digit interest rates. Those rates can skyrocket – quickly hitting 400% or more yearly – as borrowers unable to pay off their debts repeatedly roll over the loans…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty