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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Report: Payday Lending Creates 'Cycle of Debt'

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Friday, September 2, 2016   

BOISE, Idaho - Opponents of payday and car-title lending say they lead to financial abuse of consumers, and a new report supports new federal rules to combat the problem. In the report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, researchers analyzed close to 10,000 recent complaints made to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They found that 91 percent involved aggressive debt-collection practices, bank-account closures, and/or long-term cycles of debt.

Mike Litt spokesman with U.S. PIRG said payday lending is structured to set consumers up to fail.

"The borrower is using their uncashed check as collateral, and they have a short amount of time to pay that off," he explained. "And there are a lot of people out there that can't afford that interest and so that sets them up to re-borrow and take out loan after loan after loan."

The report also found that around 15 companies accounted for more than half the complaints, many charging triple-digit interest rates. The report said some of the biggest offenders are doing business under the names CashNetUSA, NetCredit, Check 'n Go, and ACE Cash Express.

Consumer advocates say the federal government should adopt a rule that requires lenders to determine, in advance, a borrower's ability to pay the loan and afford necessities such as food. Litt said the average income of a payday-loan consumer is more than $27,000 annually.

"We're talking about people who are already working to make ends meet and then they get stuck in a debt trap," he said.

The public comment period on the new rule ends on October 7th. The complaint form is here.


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