McAuliffe radio spot targets payday lenders
Olympia Meola
May 07, 2009
Jeff E. Schapiro has this on Terry McAuliffe:
With the Virginia gubernatorial primary barely a month away, the Democrat is stepping up his appeal for crucial African-American and labor votes in the Richmond-Norfolk corridor—this time, with a radio spot pegged to his promise to close the state to the high-cost, instant-loan industry.
McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is vowing to give the boot to payday and car-title lenders, saying they exploit the poor and uneducated. The issue has special resonance among minority and working-class voters—typically Democrats—who use money stores across the state.
McAuliffe isn’t the only candidate in the June 9 Democratic primary who’s down on payday lenders and their kin. So are his opponents, Sen. Creigh Deeds and former Del. Brian Moran. However, Moran is taking heat for accepting thousands of dollars in contributions from lenders.
The Deeds campaign is somewhat underwhelmed by McAuliffe’s ad. Brooke Borkenhagen, Deeds press secretary, notes that Deeds has been working in the General Assembly to control lenders. Deeds hasn’t been a lead sponsor in the legislative crackdown, but unlike McAuliffe, “has been there,“ said Borkenhagen.
In the McAuliffe commercial—running on black-oriented stations in Richmond and Hampton Roads—a female announcer mentions the state’s modest restrictions on payday lenders, allowed into Virginia in 2002 under a bill passed by a Republican-dominated legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Mark Warner.
The advertisement continues, “But why has it taken so long to stop these lenders from preying on Virginia’s most vulnerable families? For Terry McAuliffe, the solution is simple: He is the only candidate for governoor who proposed doing the right thing—ban all predatory lending in Virginia.“
McAuliffe also is proposing programs to provide small, low-cost loans and promote fiscal literacy.
McAullife is on the right track but we don’t need to ban it just put back the usury limits we have had for decades. A 36% interest rate cap allows for profitable lending. I understand what Deeds is saying but the endless “reform” Bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly have not helped much because none of them have contained an interest rate cap.
The Governor announced a poverty initiative yesterday. We may disagree about how to reduce poverty but we sure don’t want to increase it and that is just what predatory lending does. Take a look at an article and report that shows how payday lenders target economically depressed areas of the state: http://www.richmondbizsense.com/2009/05/06/low-income-areas-most-impacted-by-fleeing-payday-lenders/
May. 8, 2009 at 11:17 AM
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