To the Editor:
Are we going to take Mr. Chuck Brennan, owner of Badlands Pawn seriously? He claims that he cannot make enough money on loans at the recently passed cap of 36 percent. Therefore he is going to close and sell the former Huset's speedway; he's closing his rock and roll music academy and his Dollar Loan Centers and has now canceled all concerts at his concert facility. He also claims that there are people losing jobs and as well as lost business to South Dakota because of the 36 percent interest cap on predatory lending. What he fails to discuss is the fact that he operates in only four states in our nation.
I wonder why that is if it's such a great way to boost a state's economy. The answer is simple, because it does nothing good for anyone but Mr. Brennan himself. He preys on the desperate and financially strapped person. He tricks the less than savvy business person into thinking that his loans are the answer to all their financial issues, when in fact it's the start to a fast track of bad credit and lost assets. At interest rates well above the 36 percent cap, it is almost impossible for the basic person on a minimal income to ever pay back a predatory loan. I wonder if the compassionate citizen Mr. Brennan portrays himself as, ever forgives the borrowers who
simply can't pay their debt? I would wager that the answer is a big fat no!
Please don't think that a loan at 36 percent is a great deal either but it is a step in the right direction. Predatory lending needs to be stopped period. Wages need to be more in line with inflation. Banks need to be held accountable for their financial catastrophes instead of being bailed out. As old-fashioned as it sounds we need to implement the same principles that got
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us out of the depression in the 1930's. Policies and guidelines like Glass-Steagall were put in place to help everyone prosper, not just a chosen few.
Deb Wieczorek
Mount Vernon
