Rock Hill to tackle payday lending
With the legislature having gone home without dealing with the issue of predatory lending - today's equivalent of video poker - the city of Rock Hill has decided to take aim at these businesses through zoning:
... to which Jamie Fulmer, the local predatory lending PR hack complained "If you take away our product, all you've done is take away one of the tools that folks have to choose from when they find themselves in need of money".
Really, Jamie? Do you really think that people come to you because they have any other "tools" to use to make ends meet?
In any event, it will be interesting to see where this effort ends up. We certainly hope that this helps reduce their appeal in York County.
Leaders in Rock Hill have decided to make it tougher for new payday lenders to open after the number of businesses in the city offering the short-term high-interest loans tripled in six years.
The City Council passed zoning laws on the businesses Monday night, banning new payday lenders from opening within 300 feet of neighborhoods, churches and schools and within 1,000 feet of existing lenders.
The rules also won't allow lenders to open in stand-alone buildings, requiring them to be in shopping centers or supermarkets of at least 30,000 square feet.
Six years ago Rock Hill had less than a dozen payday lenders. Now the city has 38, officials said.
The boom happened after North Carolina, just 10 miles to the north on Interstate 77, banned payday lenders. Georgia also has banned the businesses.
- Greenville News (6/26/2007)
... to which Jamie Fulmer, the local predatory lending PR hack complained "If you take away our product, all you've done is take away one of the tools that folks have to choose from when they find themselves in need of money".
Really, Jamie? Do you really think that people come to you because they have any other "tools" to use to make ends meet?
In any event, it will be interesting to see where this effort ends up. We certainly hope that this helps reduce their appeal in York County.
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