The Truth: Issues 5 & 6 and more…
In this week’s edition of the Sojourner’s Truth there is some coverage on the state and local ballot issues that we will be voting on. Starting with the This Strikes Us where the Truth editorial staff gives their endorsements for either a yes or a no position on these issues.
I recommend reading it in full, I’m sharing here what was written on Issue 5 and Issue 6 where they urge a no vote on all of the state proposed constitutional amendment changes:
Let’s turn our attention to the two big ticket items on the ballot.
Issue 5 proposes making changes to payday lending practices. A noble idea indeed.A yes vote caps the annual interest rate on payday loans at 28 percent. Such lenders can currently charge up to 391 percent annually.
The problem with this amendment is that it represents the worst in government interference in private matters – nanny government run amok.
From a business standpoint, this is an amendment that will limit profits, that will force jobs to be lost, that will force businesses to be closed. This is certainly not a time for Ohio to become more anti-business than it already is.
From a private citizen’s standpoint, this amendment will limit borrowers’ choices, especially when there is a pressing need. The amendment further restricts the number of times someone may seek such loans each year.
Such loans are certainly usurious, but so are bank overdraft fees and credit card late fees.
Issue 6 is the casino amendment asking voters to approve the construction of one casino by a particular out-of-state casino operator on the Ohio River.
We aren’t taking any view on in-state gambling in general, we just don’t like this particular proposal because of the out-of-state component, the single casino component and the fact that the location is fixed in the southern part of the state.
When another casino is proposed, we will need another such amendment. There is a much easier way to introduce gambling to Ohio, if voters want it introduced at all.
Former Mayor Ford is back this week, with his My View column, where he writes about several issues including:
Back in the 1910’s Andrew Carnegie articulated the view that men of wealth ought to invest in society. Carnegie thought that rich guys had a special insight with the root causes of poverty and should fix the issues.
Carnegie proceeded to give a lot of his wealth away, particularly for education and library funding around the country. I thought of Carnegie the other day when I read that HCR Manor Care would receive $30 million in state and city incentives to stay in downtown Toledo. Manor Care makes millions upon millions through Medicaid reimbursement every year. If Manor Care were struggling, I could see an incentive package to help them remain viable. But this appears to be $30 million just to stay downtown. Why not stay just to be good for Toledo? And did not the City Council give Manor Care a sweet non-profit deal back in the 1980’s so they could purchase the building?
There’s much more in this week’s edition of the Truth including a piece by Michael Hayes This Is Bigger Than Obama, We Are Fighting for Our Lives where if you are not an Obama supporter you probably will not agree with much of what he wrote, except this one section:
If you are a black person and you support Obama solely because of his blackness then you aren’t too much different than a white person who refuses to support Obama solely because of his blackness.
I recommend reading it no matter how you are planning to vote, because what Michael is expressing is what others out there believe, that somehow it’s the fault of Republicans for the current condition of our local economy, our state economy, our national economy and that if Obama is not elected that our economy will worsen.
One part Michael wrote:
If healthcare was free… employers wouldn’t have to cover the cost of insurance for their workforce and companies could be more profitable and maybe more jobs would stay here at home and people could work and contribute to society.
Healthcare will never be free, even if every American had access to free healthcare, it would not truly be “free” someone would have to pay for it. Either taxes will go up or other programs will be cut to fund it. If it were that simple to create a free healthcare system, then we would have had one, since we have heard campaign promises about creating a “free healthcare system” since before I even began voting in 1978. Dreams are fantastic, but reality is something totally different, and very few things in life are ever free…
I wholeheartedly support the cap on payday loans. It is predatory lending at it’s finest and the prey is the most financially needy in our communities. Those who do work and are just not quite able to make it from paycheck to paycheck.
Our government is to protect the people from being preyed upon. We have banking legislation that prevents this kind of predatory conduct on the books already. It is a simple mistake that these lenders take advantage of to avoid banking legislation and predatory controls. They figured out how to work around the laws that exist to make businesses behave in an acceptable way.
Including them in controls that prevent predatory conduct is a no brainer. We already have and have had for a very long time banking legislation. This is NOT a new concept. Anyone who would argue that predators must be allowed to continue preying upon the populace because the government mustn’t be allowed entry into an arena where they already have controlling legislation is pure bull.
The gambling issue is also a no-brainer. To have a single entity ask to have the Constitution of one of the States changed to accommodate his business (when he has such a seedy background), is unacceptable. The Constitution of the State of Ohio is in place to protect the people. Not to accommodate individual businesses.
If this guy wants to come into Ohio and do business, he’d ought to have to do it like everybody else.
Legally.
October 25th, 2008 at 1:48 pmMy problem with Issue 5 is the substitution solution being offered on it’s face value actually costs those who need help more than the payday lenders. The credit union program that is being touted charges more in reality than you would pay for a payday loan a $35.00 fee up front per year and then 18% interest, limited to $250.00 that must be repaid first. This means anyone who needs to use this less than twice a year would actually pay less under the current system. Then if the lenders even stay here, with the reduced fees in place, the requirement of having to pay for a financial budgeting class that costs $250.00 if you get more than four loans a year is a bit extreme.
I see this unfortunately as a situation where it will hurt those currently using the payday lenders more than it will help.
The reason people are in trouble is not because of the payday lenders, the reason the payday lending companies are here are because people are in financial trouble. Which could go to the larger issue of why do people live above their means, some could avoid even needing to use these services if they would accept what their lifestyle needs to realistically be. That we both know is something not everyone wants to do.
October 25th, 2008 at 2:09 pmNo – that’s not a dialogue that people want to have. But this generation is existing almost solely on credit. And that has to change. Or the system will change it for them – as we see happening, globally, now.
But until then – we have got to do something to get the sharks out of the pool.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:02 pmMichael starts off sounding and making an intelligent point and then drifts off into the land of fear propaganda…which is funny because the democrats swear that only the GOP does that.
He also leads off with a disclaimer about “those who are only voting for Obama because of his blackness” but, is certain to villify republicans and conservatives (who are stereotyped all the time as being exclusively white) which is repeated often when he describes “the enemy” to his black audience.
He may think he knows and understands Republicans but, he’s a moron if he thinks he has a clue about conservatives. He begins well but in the end he’s just allowed himself to be another tool of the culture of dependence who capitulates their tallents and earnings to a government who will only allow them to be what the government feels they should be…beneath the government!
“If healthcare was free… employers wouldn’t have to cover the cost of insurance for their workforce and companies could be more profitable and maybe more jobs would stay here at home and people could work and contribute to society.”
Except that he forgets to tell his audience that every country that offers this “free” healthcare confiscates 55%+ of their earned income each paycheck to pay for this “gift”. How many of the poor can afford HALF of what thy’re surviving on now? How many middle class?
The ONLY people who would benefit are those who pay nothing into the system since THEY are the ONLY ones who would get “free” anything.
He also neglects to mention that no company is going to hire more people to produce more products that nobody can afford!
No company is going to produce a product because they feel sympathetic enough to fill warehouses full of junk they can’t sell just to keep an overflow of employees they can suddenly in the very short term afford due to a healthcare savings!
Typical racist uninformed nonsense from “the truth”.
October 25th, 2008 at 3:57 pmThe ONLY thing missing from the sojourner’s truth…as usual is the truth!
There are too many ballot issues. That is why I am voting for 1 (ironically) to limit them.
October 25th, 2008 at 4:40 pmWell… but won’t taxes go way up to pay for the elites on wall street BAILOUT? That certainly isn’t going to be free. And that “benefit package” benefits nobody other than a concentrated group of thieves. After congress pulled that stunt, it strikes me that everybody on the national scene who has been trying to make food stamp recipients, medicare and medicaid recipients, social security recipients, etc. feel guilty should now sit down and shut up. (Am referring here to the national tv talking head blabbering know-nothings, not anyone local here.)
Dennis Kucinich (gotta say it again) has an excellent health care package plan. Know why Obama, Clinton, McCain et al were not and are not on board with Rep K’s plan?? Because it cuts out the middle men – the insurance companies, and the savings there would pay for the plan. A liberal Dem friend sent me an article from a Dem/leaning magazine last year, and I saved that article because it had a brief run down of all the candidates’ plans. It jumps off the page – the big 3, B, H & J were planning on giving BIG TIME gifts to the insurance industry. Kucinich has a simple direct plan. And NEVER again will ANYBODY on capitol hill be able to say “we can’t afford that”. Because, in light of bailing out every failing company and bank in the nation, apparently we CAN afford simple health care for our citizens.
Summary: Don’t let the elites keep setting the talkiong-point agenda, so that we everyday citizens keep this myth going about how we can’t afford health care for our citizens. Of course we can. We could have afforded to give all the wall street free money directly to our citizens. The economy is failing big time because Americans are broke and out of work and no longer able to fund the rest of the world’s greed, and because congress are for the most part (excepting people like Marcy, Ron Paul, Dennis & a few others) are self-interested, greedy, blackmailable idiots.
October 26th, 2008 at 5:05 pmForget if you agree with pday loans or not- FOCUS on the fact that the Ohio General Assembly thinks they have the right to control what financial products are available to the citizens of Ohio. Big brother style.
Forget if you have used a PD loan or not– FOCUS on the fact that other consenting adults do and are capable of making their own decisions, based on their individiual situations. Who are we to say no, you can’t use that credit card? Or no you can’t use that bank?
Forget everything else — FOCUS on the fact that eliminating payday loans DOES NOT eliminate the need for short term financial options. I bet 99.9% of the OGA doesn’t have to worry about the day to day necessities the rest of are dealing with. They have insurance, pensions, well paying jobs.
Forget about the Pday loan argument — FOCUS on the controlling and spending of our household money by the state. Considering our current economic situation… I vote for less intrusion!! PLEASE let me manage my own darn $$ since the gov’t has shown they are not responsible, accountable or budget conscious. Ohio>> 60M in debt!!
Forget about the Pday loan side– FOCUS on what else the government is going to decide in the future (under the guise of “paternalism”
that we aren’t capable of handling as adults. Restricting how much can be spent on food? alcohol? cigarettes? housing? gambling? clothes?
FOCUS on the fact that the OGA is intruding on our personal financial decisions… where does it stop?? Why do they think they know better what will work for us than we do? We live it every day!!!
The Issue of 5 is waaaay bigger than PD Loans >> its about Financial Freedom of Choice, which I consider to be a BASIC FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT!
***NO on ISSUE 5!****
October 27th, 2008 at 11:55 amAnd oh yes– I work in the Industry and am proud of it.
1) We provide full benefits, paid time off, 401k match, above average hourly wage (more than retail or general office work), great incentive programs, paid training, room for advancement, and so much more… so when there’s a choice between this job and no job, I’m 100% POSITIVE that laid off and unemployed Ohioans might want the well paying jobs we provide.
2) If you go into a store today & borrow $100, in 2 weeks you will payback $115- so that’s 15%, not 300%!
Let’s take a rental car at 29.99 and annualize that cost, even though it’s intended to be a SHORT TERM RENTAL… it’s the same thing as annualizing a PD loan.
3) 99% of Americans need to borrow $$ at some point in their lives- student loans, auto loans, mortgage, credit cards, etc. Why should getting a short term loan be anyone else’s business? It’s a CHEAPER option than paying bounced check or late fees. Or certainly better than doing without gas, electricity, water or food until the next paycheck.
Folks, this is a business, just like any bank, store, airline, gas station, etc. We provide a service. If you choose not to use it– so be it- your choice. If you decide it’s the best option for you- so be it- your choice. If you decide to repreatedly use payday loans as a means to survive or supplement your income- so be it- your choice.
If I decide to go to a neighborhood drive thru to pick up beer/wine instead of my local grocery store even though I know I will pay a bit more, it’s my right since I find it more convenient and easier.
ITS MY $ & it’s MY CHOICE!
October 27th, 2008 at 11:55 am