Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Pallavi Gogoi at Daily Finance, who watched payday lender regulations die in the U.S. Senate, asked payday lenders how they liked the rules under which they are forced to operate for military personnel. Under those rules, members of the military cannot be charged more than 36 percent interest on any loan. She heard the most remarkable thing in response.
“We can’t make a profit on 36 percent loans,” says Steven Schlein, a spokesman for the payday lending trade group, the Community Financial Services Association.
Leaving aside the somewhat hilarious moniker for a club of payday lenders and check cashers, the group insists that companies can’t make money charging people a 36 percent interest rate plus fees. With savings and most money market accounts paying less than 1 percent interest, stock market returns iffy and credit card companies making billions a year charging about 20 percent interest to its customers, either payday lenders are exceedingly stupid business people or their trade group thinks Americans are.
At least in terms of Congress, they’re right: Further payday lending regulation seems to be off the table after the group’s successful lobbying campaign against it.
In Iowa payday lenders were also successful. Despite support from liberal groups like Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and conservative groups like Iowa Christian Alliance, legislation that would have given payday lenders the option of capping rates and fees at 36 percent or capping the number of loans per borrower died in a state House subcommittee.
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