This weekend in the Post-Dispatch:
Under the guise of “reform,” the Missouri House of Representatives has advanced a bill that actually would loosen restrictions on the payday loan industry. That’s pretty galling, given that Missouri already is one of the friendliest states in the union for short-term lending sharks.
In playing footsie with the payday lending industry — which contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to their campaigns — Missouri lawmakers are bucking a trend in which 17 other states have cracked down on the industry. Included are the rock-ribbed Republican states of Arizona and Montana...
The [House Financial Institutions Committee] vote in favor of the bill [Ellen Brandom's HB656] was 13-3. Among those voting aye was the committee chairman, Republican Don Wells of Cabool, who recently sold his interest in Qwik-Cash of Cabool.
Area Republicans joining Mr. Wells were Scott Dieckhaus of Washington and Vicki Schneider of O’Fallon. Proving that predation knows no party, two area Democrats also voted aye: Jamilah Nasheed of St. Louis and Mary Nichols of Maryland Heights.
They should all be ashamed.
Read the whole editorial here.
