As Americans went to the polls to vote for their next President, activists in various localities pushed their personal agendas through ballot initiatives. Big Government was handed another (nanny) state last night when a proposal to uphold limits on payday loans was approved in Ohio. As we told you earlier this year, elitist state politicians and Gov. Ted Strickland decided Ohioans are incapable of making their own financial decisions, and voted to cap annual percentage rates on "payday" loans — effectively banning the industry. Responsible adult consumers were given another chance to retain their financial freedom and preserve this valued short-term loan option when the issue was placed on the ballot.
Unfortunately, bureaucrat-knows-best propaganda prevailed, allowing paternalist politicians to decide which types of credit should be made available to their constituents. Ohioans (and consumers nationwide) should ask themselves, “What’s next?” Limits on the number of times they can access an ATM in a single day?
Ohioans are already struggling, and consumers nationwide are finding it harder to gain access to any kind of credit. Banning payday loans — and allowing government to wedge in between borrowers and their pocketbooks — does nothing to address Americans’ financial distress and the underlying causes of the credit crunch. And limiting consumer choice in personal finance only spurs activists who hope to regulate our lives in countless other areas.
