Well, are you really claiming that the cause of high interest rates on payday loans is poor morals? Unusual greed? Which mysteriously descends on all who enter

Well, are you really claiming that the cause of high interest rates on payday loans is poor morals? Unusual greed? Which mysteriously descends on all who enter the trade, every time? That's the whole reason I used the example of loansharks, as I thought everyone understood by now that even if the angels ran that trade, such loans would be very expensive. But see below for other arguments against this bad-morals argument. I've never seen numbers, but given the abundance of competing outfits, I'd expect that it looks roughly like any other business, once you account for all the costs. It could be a little more profitable if distaste drives some potential competitors to stay out. It also seems like a great front business for laundering, but I wouldn't guess that's a large proportion.