Dr. Bennett should choose his engagements more carefully to avoid being associated with dubious business practices that harm low-income Americans. Payday loans are small, short-term loans made by check cashers at extremely high interest rates. The lender holds the check until the consumer's next payday, usually in two weeks. In fact, loans at these rates violate criminal laws in New York and New Jersey. Because they're borrowing from their next paycheck, many consumers can't make ends meet the next time around.
People fall onto a perpetual debt treadmill that can ruin their lives.
Payday loan industry practices appear to violate the standards set by Bennett's The Book of Virtues in several other ways, in addition to the high interest rates charged. This shading of the truth should not be tolerated by someone like Dr. Bennett. In addition, the letter asserts that the collection tactics of payday lenders also run afoul of principles espoused in The Book of Virtues. Some lenders threaten customers with criminal prosecution for writing bad checks. They do so even though most states allowing payday loans do not permit criminal prosecution since everyone knows at the outset that the check is not good.