Young people are payday lenders’ newest prey

  Payday loans have long been marketed as a quick and easy way for people to access cash between paychecks. Today, there are about 23,000 payday lenders—twice the number of McDonald’s restaurants in the United States—across the country. While payday lenders target many different Americans, they tend to go after traditionally vulnerable populations. People without a college degree, renters, African Americans, individuals earning less than $40,000 a year, and people who are separated or divorced are the most likely to have a payday loan. And increasingly, many of these payday loan borrowers are young people.

I paid 118 percent on a payday loan. The administration is canceling efforts to rein them in.

  There was a moment in my life when it felt as if everything that could go wrong went wrong — and all at the same time.

  I had just started a new job. My household went from two incomes to just one, and we were definitely starting to feel it. The mortgage was due, all of the regular household bills and responsibilities were still there, and my son still needed money to cover school and sports expenses.

  I managed to use the remainder of my savings to pay for everything, but I was still $500 short for my mortgage payment. I was stressed out, trying my best to make ends meet and keep some normalcy in my son’s life. I knew I had a paycheck coming, but it would not arrive in time to avoid all of the late fees and the credit hit for being 30 days late on my mortgage.

Robert Wilkerson: Swarming Christmas sharks

  You may be asking what Christmas sharks are. They are predatory lenders (payday and title loan companies) who prey on poor and low-income people. At Christmas they are trying to lure more of these unsuspecting people into their waters by offering fast, easy cash for Christmas.

Robert Wilkerson: Making the poor poorer

  "What are those men doing in my backyard?" she said, looking out her kitchen window. After watching them a few minutes, she charged out into the yard. There were three big white men out there with a wrecker that didn’t have a name on it. She yelled, "Get out of my backyard! Get out!" She had an envelope stuffed with money in her hand and said, "Here. Here’s the money. Take it and leave me alone!" The men ignored her. They didn’t say a word, and they didn’t take her money. She told them, "I got to that office one minute late yesterday, and I saw people inside. I banged and banged on the door, but nobody would come or take my money.