Money, Banking and Finance
Personal Finance

Pay day loans ... and the vicious cycle of perpetual debt

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

STOP PAY DAY PREDATORS

THE PROBLEM

Payday lenders purposefully ensnare people in debt they can’t escape. These legalized loan sharks collect 75 percent of their fees from people stuck in more than 10 loans a year by charging 300 percent APR. It’s a debt trap.

THE SOLUTION

We can rein in the worst payday lending abuses with a proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Payday lenders are fighting to keep their unfair and abusive practices going. It’s up to us to make sure the CFPB hears loud and clear that we need to stop the debt trap once and for all.

The CFPB is one of the most important government initiatives in recent years, and absolutely vital for a modern economy that works. I wish it well. I support the CFPB's effort to stop the debt trap. Payday lenders create a debt trap that locks millions of Americans into a cycle of poverty they can’t escape. Unaffordable payday loans cause borrowers to default on other bills and can lead to harms such as overdraft fees and even bankruptcy. Lenders must be required to ensure that every loan, regardless of duration or type, be able to be paid back affordably with enough money left over to cover normal expenses. The CFPB must protect families and ensure that money stays in their hands – not in the pockets of payday loan sharks.

THANK YOU

Payday lenders shouldn’t be able to trap millions of Americans in a cycle of debt they can’t escape. Your comment was sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in an effort to urge them to regulate payday lenders and ensure that hard-earned money stays in the hands of those who earn it – and not in the hands of payday loan sharks.

Do you have personal experience with a payday loan? Sharing your values, your story, or the story of someone you care about who has been caught up in the payday debt trap is the most powerful way to explain to rule makers that this matters. Click here to share comments about your experience.