Target payday lending
COLUMBUS — Anyone who watches TV can see that the opposition to Issue 5 is well-funded, airing scores of ads that urge voters to protect their financial choices and keep thousands of jobs in Ohio.
So far, the payday lending industry has spent more than $1 million getting Issue 5 on the ballot. They're urging a No vote, which would block reforms passed by the legislature earlier this year.
The other side — Yes on Issue 5 — is relying on churches, consumer groups, political leaders and a guy dressed in a shark costume to get the word out.
"Shady," the reformed loan shark, crashed the opposition's press conferences, had a Facebook page with 250 friends, and snagged a spoof interview with a Columbus newspaper columnist — all gimmicks to get free attention for the Yes on Issue 5 campaign.
Earlier this year, the state passed a law capping annual interest rates on short-term loans at 28 percent and limiting people to four such loans a year. Payday lenders have been charging 391 percent annual percentage rates for two-week loans.
A Yes vote on Issue 5 would keep the new rate cap.
"It's all about the rates. It's not about financial freedom. It's not about financial choice. It's all about greed. If people know what they're voting on, we crush them. If they don't, then we're in trouble," said Sandy Theis, spokeswoman for Yes on Issue 5.
Ohioans for Financial Freedom, which is funded by the payday lenders, say if Issue 5 passes, Ohioans will lose a financial option that many of them rely on in emergencies. The group's ads warn that Big Brother government will be watching their private financial transactions, their personal data would be at risk, and it's another case of government butting into people's lives.
"Ohio is moving toward, 'We know better than you, hardworking Ohioan. We know how many loans you should take out and when you should take them out,'" said Ohioans for Financial Freedom spokeswoman Kim Norris.
Absent from the ads being run by Ohioans for Financial Freedom are the words "payday lending." Instead, the message is financial choice and the potential loss of 6,000 jobs if the reforms are enacted. About 150 of the state's 1,600 have already closed.
The Yes on Issue 5 campaign points to the fact that 1,200 payday lending stores have already applied for licenses to offer short-term loans under the new law. Norris counters that those stores are merely keeping their options open.
Source:http://www.western-star.com/n/content
