Third and State

Right there, looking into Joey's eyes, it all came back in a rush. Why I do what I do. Defending the defenseless, protecting the disenfranchised corporations that have been abandoned by their very own consumers: the logger, the sweatshop foreman, the oil driller, the land mine developer, the baby seal poacher...

The quote above is a classic from the satirical film on corporate lobbying, Thank You For Smoking. I'm reminded of the film this morning by a letter to the editor in the Patriot-News from Kelly Walker of the Pennsylvania Consumer Credit Association.

The letter chided the Patriot-News Editorial Board for its editorial asking the state Senate not to pass a bill that would allow predatory payday lending in Pennsylvania.

You might now be scratching your head, a consumer group in favor of payday lending? 

At a Senate Banking and Insurance Committee hearing held on September 19, John Rabenold, as the head of the Pennsylvania Consumer Credit Association, testified in support of the bill to expand payday lending. 

And who is John Rabenold?

He is the Vice President of Government Affairs at Axcess Financial.

And what is Axcess Financial?

The corporate parent of the payday lender Check N' Go.

Based on their web graphics (see above), the Pennsylvania Consumer Credit Association appears to be in favor of 14-day loans to finance barbeques with friends or perhaps a nice Ralph Lauren wardrobe. I wonder why they don't use graphics of the payday lending storefronts they hope to locate in your local community (like the ones below)?

For more on the dangers of payday lending, see http://www.stoppaydayloanspa.com/.