Payday Reforms, Tornado Response

THUMBS UP TO:

An agreement on payday lending

irginia lawmakers finally reached agreement on payday lending reform this week. The final bill doesn’t go as far as industry critics would have liked, but it is better than nothing at all. Most importantly, the bill creates a computer database to monitor payday lending usage.

Lawmakers blessed the database because it provides the means to ascertain that payday lending customers carry no more than one loan at a time, a requirement of the new law. The database also provides the means to determine when a borrower takes out their fifth loan in six months – an action that triggers both an extended repayment plan and a mandatory lock-out period, during which no new loans can be obtained.

We suggest a third use for the database. The state should use it to determine how many payday customers are high-volume users, trapped in an endless cycle of debt. If the data shows that the industry is dependant on these poor souls – rather than responsible borrowers who have an unexpected expense once or twice a year – then lawmakers will have the ammunition needed to pursue more aggressive reforms or ban the lenders from the state.

An industry that preys on the weak and the vulnerable doesn’t deserve to continue to operate. The database will provide the proof – one way or the other.

A timely and compassionate response

Tornadoes aren’t supposed to strike this region; the conventional wisdom dictates that the mountains provide protection. Big Stone Gap residents know otherwise. They’re still picking up the pieces after an EF-1 tornado swept through their town and caused considerable damage.

In the aftermath of the unexpected storm, volunteer firefighters from as far away as Bristol went to Wise County to lend a hand. Rescue workers and police officers from scores of jurisdictions also pitched in. In some cases, the first responders weren’t professionals, they were neighbors. It would be impossible to name all who did their best to help the storm’s victims.

We salute them all and wish Big Stone Gap residents the best as they seek a return to normalcy.

Protection for pups and cats

A bill to add a bittering agent to antifreeze won approval in the Tennessee House Agriculture Committee this week; it has already passed the Senate. The force behind the bill is Haley Ham, a Sevier County sixth grader who lost two pets to antifreeze poisoning. The bitterant is supposed to discourage animals from drinking the poison.

Some lawmakers are concerned about a provision in the bill that would exempt antifreeze makers from some liability in connection with the bitterant. Antifreeze makers asked for the limited liability waiver because the bitterant is made by a third party. This seems reasonable. If the bill protects pets, it’s a worthwhile endeavor.

THUMBS DOWN TO:

An endorsement of questionable worth

Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, recently received the endorsement of controversial evangelical pastor John Hagee. McCain has said he was honored to the receive the endorsement, but has sought to distance himself from Hagee’s extreme rhetoric on Catholicism and on homosexuals.

Among his controversial statements, Hagee suggested that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment of New Orleans for a planned gay-pride parade. He’s also fond of referring to the Catholic Church as a "whore."

McCain’s arms-length approach to Hagee isn’t enough. He needs to make it much clearer that he doesn’t share Hagee’s opinions and won’t pander to him in a bid to shore up a portion of the Republican base.