Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Republicans have sided with the payday loan industry from the beginning.  In state after state, they've defeated Democratic attempts to set any limit on predatory lending, even when it was well known that the military was a primary target for these loan sharks.  

Now that it's an election season, they're suddenly scrambling to make out as if they're the on the side of the little guy.  After years of fighting Democratic attempts to cap payday loans -- Republicans, who allowed the interest rates to slide as high as 390% (and often it was actually much higher) are now trumpeting a bill that will cap payday loans at 36% interest.  Not only is this value still far too high, it's also poorly enforced.  And Republicans have neatly forgotten that it was their regulations and protection that allowed the payday loan situation to reach its current plague status.

Still, the payday loan situation is illuminating as both a measure of Republican hypocrisy and Republican values.  

If you're the only parent to dependent children, that's just too bad -- you can still be sent to Iraq.  If you've been out of the military so long you can't remember what a uniform looks like -- too bad, they can drag you back.  If you've already served your hitch and you want to move on -- tough luck, you have to stay.  

But if you owe the payday loan sharks... well, we better keep you close to home where you can be sure and pay.  Besides, if you're all the way over in Iraq, how are you going to pile up more debt.

Let's see.  What do Republicans think is the cause of the problem?

The problem is attributed to a lack of financial smarts among recruits; reckless spending among those exhilarated to make it home alive from a tour of duty; and the profusion of "payday lenders" -- businesses that allow military personnel to borrow against their next paycheck at extremely high interest rates.

Ah, so it's the troops' fault.  Not the fault of a Republican government that has our military at its lowest pay rate in 13 years, or a Republican legislature that's blocked all attempts to regulate payday loans (until it was time for them to use it as an election year issue, of course).  

So right now, a number of troops equal to about a third of all those we have in Baghdad is sitting this war out, paying of their chits to the Republipals.