Saturday, July 24, 2010

Arizona Voters Oust Predatory Payday Lenders

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Getting Arizona out of my system is much like trying to rid myself of scorpion venom. It is painful, and it tends to linger in the bloodstream for a long, long time.

Good friend, Xobekim, forwarded a news release from Arizona's Attorney General, Terry Goddard, regarding new legislation that rids the state of a god-awful blight on human decency: payday lenders. Goddard, a democrat who is running against incumbent cracker Jan Brewer for governor of America's most racist state, has been at the forefront of enforcing the mandate passed by the voting public in 2008 which cleanses the state of the vile payday lenders.

I was pleased to have had to opportunity to help vote payday lenders out of existence in Arizona, but even with a decisive public vote, they did not go quietly. The villainous practioners of usury fought back hard against the will of the people, and generously dumped money into the pockets of many Arizona politicians (mostly Republicans) in an effort to save their golden egg-laying geese. Some of our well-bribed legislators openly deplored this act of the voters, claiming that it was going to hurt the state economically by killing jobs - the jobs of the sleazeballs who worked in the payday loan industry!

Many of the payday lenders are closing up shop and moving to greener pastures, but others are dragging their heels. Terry Goddard has set up a hotline for people to report any of these characters still found to be cheating the poor in Arizona. (866-879-5219) Some who want to remain have switched their game to "car title" lenders. That sounds like another public vote just waiting to happen.

It is refreshing to note that good things can come out of Arizona, a state that often seems to take unlimited pride in its bigotry and hatred.

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