This one’s rich. The federal government is a staggering $19 trillion in debt, and yet its newest major regulatory agency wants to tell people how to handle their own personal finances.
Worried about Americans getting into debt they’re unable to repay, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued 1,300 pages of new rules for the payday lending industry. The rules are sending shockwaves through the industry and will likely force about 85 percent of storefront payday lenders to close.
There’s more to the CFPB rules than simply killing businesses, however. Using payday loans certainly isn’t a sound long-term financial strategy, but sometimes even responsible people need a quick cash infusion, and a payday loan is the best way to get it. What are those people supposed to do now?
