Justice denied, place names mangled.

Why does it make Merkley a winner to see him celebrate the closing of a business that was operating legally, I presume? I have nothing but praise for the Legislature's ending of usury practices at such lenders--but that law having passed, weren't the places that Merkley cheered for their closure operating under the terms he set down?

If some payday lending outfits go under because much of the profit has been taken out of it, I suppose that's a natural economic shift. One needn't bemoan the closing of those stories. But to CELEBRATE the closing of 13 retail stores, the loss of whatever jobs were being held in those stores, and the loss of rent income for the building owners, is political grandstanding that rings an off note to me. I thought this was about predatory lending, not payday loan shops. Why is Merkley going personal against these retailers who are just trying to make it under the new rules?

Again: predatory lending bad. Boo. Payday loan shops: bad when charging 500% interest, but maybe not so bad at 36%?

If the company's business model is usury, and they don't want to do business otherwise, they're not benefiting the economy. Credit unions offer advance loans to anyone with any or no credit at 18.5%. I'd rather people go to local, ethical companies than these out-of-state parasites.

I'm amazed at the elitist rhetoric being thrown around regarding Payday Loan shops. Sure, they may charge horrendous interest rates, but those inflated figures are based on ANNUAL rates. Payday loans must be payed back in two weeks, in which case you are paying 15% interest; better than any lending institution. Most important, however, is the badly needed stop gap they provide for lower income families who are short on rent by just a hundred or so dollars. Paying the loan shop fifteen bucks as opposed to fifty to a hundred to the landlord for late rent is certainly preferable to someone who must make every penny count, of which our area is filled whether or not the espresso drinking, sushi eating, art gallery lingering Portland intelligentsia wants to admit or not. The only danger that actually exists with Payday Lenders is the trap of taking out multiple, consecutive loans which gradually bleed a person's bank account dry. Washington has the benefit of laws addressing these instances which force the lender to allow a gradual payback once someone has amassed X number of loans. This does a great job of allowing a badly needed service to exist for those who fall on the all too frequent hard times while disallowing overuse and abuse.

Hopefully Oregon, and Portland especially, can follow suit and not throw out the baby with the bathwater when it comes to limiting Payday Loan stores.