Like it or not, the struggle for social justice seems to be an increasing component of Mayor Sly's political platform. Here's the latest:
Mayor Invites Community to Payday Lending Discussion
Mayor Sly James said members of the community are invited to join him to launch a grassroots effort to end predatory payday lending, a presence that creates a financial debt trap for many of Kansas City’s most vulnerable families.
“Kansas Citians of all ages need to understand the importance of using money wisely to prepare for a financially stable future,” Mayor James said. ‘Triple-digit interest rates on small-dollar loans imposed on working families is not the kind of financial service we want in Kansas City.”
The kick-off will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, June 11 at the Gem Theater, 1615 E. 18th St.
Communities Creating Opportunity is hosting the event. Also invited are national, state and local elected leaders; congregation ministers; social service organizations serving the working poor and youth; and community leaders in neighborhoods where many payday lending establishments are located.
The Rev. Mike Roach of St. James Catholic in Kansas City, a clergy leader with Communities Creating Opportunity in Kansas City, said: “Our faith traditions are very clear: Industries built on exploiting the working poor are immoral and must change. The abuses and excesses of the payday lenders are well-documented and continue to shock the conscience of Americans everywhere. God’s people must demand better.”
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Read the whole thing here.
Developing . . .
This is a great thing the Kansas City - St. Joseph Diocese is spearheading. A great initiative with financial backing. Father Roach is spot on "God's people must demand better."
ReplyDeleteBravo to Fr. Roach for stepping up.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Fr. Rush at Visitation, where some of these payday operators are parishioners calling themselves Catholic, has turned a blind eye in favor of his popularity and his collection plate.
RE: “Kansas Citians of all ages need to understand the importance of using money wisely to prepare for a financially stable future,” Mayor James said.
ReplyDeleteAPRIL FOOL'S DAY REPLAY???
WTF?? Mayor James claiming to know anything about using money wisely to prepare for a financially stable future is a TOTAL JOKE!!!
James is like a kid with a newly issued credit card who thinks everything is now free, and there's no bill coming due at the end of the month!!
Shouldn't Sly focus on taking guns away from law abiding white folk?
ReplyDeleteSo, how is shutting down payday loan shops going to help poor people understand the importance of using money wisely to prepare for a financially stable future. It would be much more instructive to keep the shops open and then counsel the borrowers about keeping up with loan payments.
ReplyDelete12:19 Who said anything about shutting down the shops?? Though judging from the fact there are more payday lenders than McD's Walmarts and Starbucks combined in Missouri, we could probably do with less. But NO ONE is saying shut them down.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, what the church has said that its more well off members should CONSIDER (nothing compulsory) getting together and opening shops that offer better rates to force the existing shops to lower their rates (and it is my understanding that details are being worked on this). The Church is advocating the forces of capitalism in this case to force change. Now the government? Well they would want to do it through mandates.
But as relating to what this article is about, I haven't seen anything about shutting down payday loans.
Loan sharks are the bastion of liberty
ReplyDelete@12:38
ReplyDeleteThese folks have been TALKING about offering some alternatives to payday loans for many many years.
If there are actually people with some money who can put something together, why don't they just actually DO it?
Endless meetings, marches, protests, and demands are, well, endless.
Try going to Jeff City and lobby to get the laws changed. And with the strength and money from the payday loan lobby, good luck with that.
Or how about electing some state reps who know about these issues and who are willing and able to pursue some change?
The same old whining and promises from the same old crowd.
1:06 The Catholic Church and Bishop Finn in particular recognized the futile attempts you mentioned. That is why about 5 years after taking office in KC, Bishop Finn started the Church on a new path to tackle this issue. He envisioned a process whereby market forces would be used instead of legislative forces. As with all charitable organizations the wheels move slow. Fundraising and donor acquisition, and you are dealing with donated time. Things move slowly. But rest assured the Church has recognized that this will not be solved in the halls of Jeff City, at least not quickly enough. Let the market work it out.
ReplyDeleteSeems rather innovative if you ask me, and is one of the many great things Bishop Finn did.
In a sluggish economy, never fuck with another man's livelihood.
ReplyDeleteThis beats the Catholic Church infiltrating our country with terrorists from all over the middle East and cashing in on the Refugee Scam government kick back.
ReplyDeleteThe Lutheran s are even worse.
what a racket
As the public was repeatedly told that the economy was recovering and the stock market was booming, use of payday loans and other “alternative financial services” has boomed!
ReplyDeleteI personally don't know why this is such a big deal. it's important to drain niggers financially and keep their subhuman antics in check. Niggershines we call them!
ReplyDeleteWhere has CCO been for the past 40 years doing nothing and always showing up late in the game? Mc Donalds, Walmart and Starbucks were here before payday loans. It's a global economy run by a few banks like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Go after the godless killing machines on Wall Street and can see what CCO is made of
ReplyDelete