Comedian John Oliver recently tackled the absurdity of Payday Loans and why you should avoid them on his HBO show "Last Week Tonight". Payday Loans are typically stores people can go to secure small loans which are agreed to be repaid on the individual's next payday. Agreeing to the terms means individuals who take out a payday loan will pay back several times what they borrowed. Problems arise when people are unable to pay back their loan in a timely manner and are forced to relinquish a title to their car or other personal property deemed worthy of repayment. You often see such businesses in or nearby low-income neighborhoods and blue collar communities. John Oliver covers the incredible (and legal) interest rates that push far past 1000%. Besides the fact that offering low-income or financially distraught individuals short-term loans with sky-high interest rates might be questionable in terms of business ethics, the piece also goes into how and why the number of payday loan establishments surpass the number of McDonald's or Starbucks in the United States... It may or may not have to do with the conflicting intersection of money and politics. You can follow Last Week Tonight on Twitter @LastWeekTonight.
- MYDM