Thursday, September 07, 2006
It's shocking how reflexively authoritarian The State can be. Whatever the issue—no matter its small scale or inherent intimacy—The State sees another venue for government intervention. According to The State worldview, government is the babysitter and you're the infant.Don't believe me? Check out this tiny gem of an editorial. The subject is so-called payday lending. The idea of such lending is that you can receive a cash advance against your next paycheck—for a fee. It is, in effect, an ultra-short term loan at a very high interest rate.Since Brad Warthen doesn't like these things, what's his solution? You guessed it; just ban 'em.Now, I've never used a payday lender and I don't plan on using one. But do you know what? I don't think that I'm qualified to make decisions for everyone else. But, of course, I'm not Brad Warthen. He thinks he is qualified to make everyone's personal financial decisions for them.Put aside the fact that this is perfectly analogous to credit card debt. Some people spend more money than they have and put it on the credit card. When they can't pay the whole bill at the end of the month, they wind up carrying a balance. The balance has a high interest rate.But let's set all that aside. I don't have any reason to use a pay day lender but maybe you do. It's not my business. Therefore, you should have a choice. But why does Brad Warthen think he's smart enough to imagine every single South Carolinian's circumstances and make the right choice for them? He thinks he can make a better choice ("no payday loan") for every person, in every situation, until the end of time. How smart is this guy?
Posted by Bill Smith at 8:46 AM |
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