4 ms·

I disagree. I think that the idea of "making money off the poor" by offering high interest short term loans is something people recoil from. That drives out peo

by netcan 12y ago

I disagree. I think that the idea of "making money off the poor" by offering high interest short term loans is something people recoil from. That drives out people who care about what they're thought of and the people who don't fill the vacuum. Make it illegal and we can go even further down that path to legbreakers.

jnbiche 12y ago
>Make it illegal and we can go even further down that path to legbreakers. Bingo! But I'd argue that there are people who would like to enter this sector, despite its poor reputation, because we'd like to actually serve our clientele while making a reasonable profit in a highly transparent manner.
- netcan 12y ago
  Possibly, but I don't think that this is a case where regulation is what screwed everything up. I think public perception plays just as big a role. Deregulation would improve competition but will also introduce other problems. Incidentally I don't think it's a bad idea for government or nongovernmental to be allowed to offer these services in a deregulated market.
  - jnbiche 12y ago
    >Deregulation would improve competition but will also introduce other problems Such as? Deceiving consumers and engaging in usurious interest rates? And I completely agree that NGOs and/or government agencies should be able to offer these services -- as long as the government agencies don't get any special privileges, like being able to automatically garnish tax returns of loan recipients who default, for example. That would just be taking advantage of their government powers to eliminate the competition.
joosters 12y ago
But there are plenty of payday loan companies who enter this market with the "we're nice and friendly, we're not like the others" attitude, so there doesn't seem to be much resistance. The fact that these companies still end up extracting huge charges, fines and fees from their customers doesn't solve the underlying problem, but I don't see any real resistance to new entrants based on the reputation of the existing businesses.

by netcan 12y ago

jnbiche 12y ago

>Make it illegal and we can go even further down that path to legbreakers. Bingo! But I'd argue that there are people who would like to enter this sector, despite its poor reputation, because we'd like to actually serve our clientele while making a reasonable profit in a highly transparent manner.

netcan 12y ago
Possibly, but I don't think that this is a case where regulation is what screwed everything up. I think public perception plays just as big a role. Deregulation would improve competition but will also introduce other problems. Incidentally I don't think it's a bad idea for government or nongovernmental to be allowed to offer these services in a deregulated market.
- jnbiche 12y ago
  >Deregulation would improve competition but will also introduce other problems Such as? Deceiving consumers and engaging in usurious interest rates? And I completely agree that NGOs and/or government agencies should be able to offer these services -- as long as the government agencies don't get any special privileges, like being able to automatically garnish tax returns of loan recipients who default, for example. That would just be taking advantage of their government powers to eliminate the competition.

joosters 12y ago

But there are plenty of payday loan companies who enter this market with the "we're nice and friendly, we're not like the others" attitude, so there doesn't seem to be much resistance. The fact that these companies still end up extracting huge charges, fines and fees from their customers doesn't solve the underlying problem, but I don't see any real resistance to new entrants based on the reputation of the existing businesses.