Monday, June 16, 2014

Which is the bigger loan shark—payday loans or government student loans?

I  checked Payday Loans against the government loans to students. Who's the real culprit. Got it--the federal government is the bigger loan shark.

"The $41.3 billion profit [from gov't student loans] for the 2013 fiscal year is down $3.6 billion from the previous year but it's a higher profit level than all but two companies in the world: Exxon Mobil cleared $44.9 billion in 2012, and Apple cleared $41.7 billion." (USAToday Nov. 25, 2013)

"The easy-to-get small ...[payday] loans have drawn a lot of criticism in recent years for burdening low-income borrowers with astronomically high interest rates and fees. In states with no restrictions on the loans, borrowers who quickly replace one payday loan with another generate $2.6 billion in fees every year. ( Washington Post, Sept. 11, 2013)

"Payday loan borrowers spend approximately $7.4 billion annually at 20,000 storefronts and hundreds of websites, plus additional sums at a growing number of banks." (Pew Report, July, 2012)

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