Military Payday Loan Supporter Receives Little Backing in Utah
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
This may not be the last time James Evans (pictured) hears criticism about his payday loan views.
In the Salt Lake Tribune, Lt. Col. Craig S. Cook, shares his feelings regarding Evans, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, for readers. We've paraphrased the letter below:
In numerous interviews against Mayor Rocky Anderson, Evans hproclaimed that he and his party "support our troops." He planned and spoke at the pro-Bush rallies "to show our support for our troops." But does this run counter to his view on instant payday loans?
After all, this is the same James Evans who reportedly owns and operates payday advance/check-cashing businesses. Republican-controlled Utah is one of only 10 states in the country that does not have a cap or a maximum interest rate on these types of bad credit payday loans.
The Center for Responsible Lending, a nonpartisan research group, states: "Payday lenders, who typically require borrowers to endorse a postdated check, trap borrowers in a cycle of debt at annual percentage rates of 400 percent."
Even worse are the affects on the armed forces. The Pentagon asked Congress for federal legislation to place an annual 36 percent ceiling on short-term loans made to members of the military recently. The report also showed that the number of security clearance denials for financial reasons jumped 10 times from fiscal 2002 to 2006.
With such information about military payday loans on hand, Cook had one question:
Is Mr. Evans supporting our troops or are they actually supporting him?
