“Hey Hey! Ho Ho! These payday loans have got to go!”
“What do you want?”
“Stop the debt trap!”
“When do you want it?”
“Now! Right Now!”
These were some of the messages chanted by almost two dozen people assembled Tuesday morning outside of a payday loan store at 6001 22nd Ave. in an effort to bring attention to high-interest lending practices in Kenosha and throughout Wisconsin.
They were protesting proposed rollbacks of federal consumer protections against such companies.
Leading the chants was Jonathan Barker, minster of Grace Lutheran Church, 2001 60th St. The rally was co-sponsored by the church, the ELCA Outreach Center and the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group. Before marching down 60th Street to the loan store, the group gathered on the church’s front lawn and parking lot.
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“Payday lenders target low-income borrowers already in financial distress, drawing them into a spiral of growing debt,” said Emma Fisher, WISPIRG event organizer. Citing statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, she noted skyrocketing interest rates often hit 500 percent.
The rally called attention to a recent blow dealt to the government agency that had been working to change those dynamics.
“Some members of Congress are pushing to undo new protections for America’s most vulnerable consumers and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” Fisher said. She referred to proposed regulations to curb runaway interest rates levied by check-cashing companies finalized last October by the bureau.
According to the bureau’s website, new regulations would have stopped debt traps “by requiring lenders to take steps to make sure people can repay their loans.” Additionally, it would prevent lenders from “attempting to collect payment from people’s bank accounts in ways that may rack up excessive fees.”
The rules were effectively scuttled on Jan. 16 when Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the bureau appointed by President Trump, announced the federal agency would “reconsider” it.
The proposed new regulations had taken five years of deliberation, with financial institution lobbyists insisting that rules would “ruin a system that paved a pathway to credit for 30 million consumers,” according to the bureau.
“It is ridiculous that our elected officials would roll back regulations, making it easier for payday lenders to harm people rather than standing up for their constituents,” said Mackenna Balsewicz, a high school student and WISPIRG member from Oconomowoc.
“It’s absurd our elected officials act on behalf of payday lending,” agreed Fisher. However, she cited a recent initiative by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., as an exception. In February, Baldwin introduced the Safe Lending Act that would address abuses in payday lending and help protect consumers.
“We are calling on our members of Congress to stand up for their constituents by protecting the Payday Lending Rule, not the financial predators that profit at our expense,” Fisher said.
For Barker, the issue of payday loan interest rates is “an abomination” with biblical precedent.
Addressing the pre-march rally, he said, “(Payday lenders) have a big impact on our local community and, as a pastor, I am concerned about how God is concerned about such things.”
Citing biblical passages, he continued, “God has been infuriated for more than 3,000 years about predatory financial practices.”
For others, it is personal. Grace church member Lonnie Stewart told how he had gone to the loan service as a customer just that morning. “I put in $400 and they charge me $4 every time I use my card, no matter where I’m at,” he said.
He said that he patronizes a payday loan company because he has spinal issues limiting the distance he can walk. “Around here there are not many banks. These (institutions) prey on our whole neighborhood. These people know what they’re doing; they prey on the weak — even me.”
Others in attendance said came out to support those who have fallen victim to such loans.
“I hear the agony of the people caught in the net of debt,” said neighborhood resident Holly Cummings.
“I’m surprised at how many people my age, as senior citizens, who fall into this trap.”
In his remarks, Karl Erickson, ELCA director, offered alternatives to payday loan centers, such as credit unions that offer savings accounts that can be opened with as little as $5. “It’s important that we point out alternatives, and all you have to do is look for them,” he said.
