A record voter turnout is expected for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, and that prediction will put new election law reforms to the test. According to America.gov, in 2004, 125 million people voted in the presidential election, about 88 percent of registered voters. Experts believe that turnout in 2008 will be somewhere between 125 million and 200 million voters, the highest numbers in recent memory.
Progressives should be alert to the race for the Ohio School Board, where the issue of creationism is unfortunately is being overlooked by many.
In District 6 (Columbus metro), candidate Kristen McKinley can be counted on to fight against efforts to put "intelligent design" aka creationism into the statewide science curriculum. Schools are obligated to follow state standards, so our votes for state school board candidates do count!
Ask yourself one question, "Is 391 percent interest too high?" Yes!
Now you know how to vote on Issue 5, Ohio's payday loan referendum that gready lenders are trying to get on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Upper Arlington Progressive Action first brought this to your attention several months ago when we learned about the effort to reform payday lending. We applauded the passage of House Bill 545, which reduced the annual percentage of interest that can be charged down to 28 percent.
As Ohio Democrats pack for their national convention in Denver next week, they have quietly rolled up an advantage that almost no one has noticed: nearly a million more registered voters than Republicans.
Almost three times as many Ohio voters have become Democrats as have become Republicans since the summer before the last presidential election.
The approval of these new regulations in both the Ohio House and Senate is a direct result of a coordinated progressive grassroots effort. 245 non-profit, religious and civic organizations joined together in the Ohio Coalition for Responsible Lending to change public policy and educate the public and media about the impact of the 391% interest rates charged to many of Ohio poorest citizens.
Steve Stivers: for 391% interest rates before he was against them
Interestingly, Ohio State Senator Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist and Republican running against Mary Jo Kilroy for Congress, was for 391% interest rates before he was against them. Only a few months ago, Stivers was repeating payday lending industry talking points.
Recently the executive committee of UAPA voted to support the passage of Ohio House Bill 333. It limits the annual interest rate charged on a typical two-week loan (from payday lenders such as Check Into Cash and Always Payday) from the current 391 percent (about $15 per $100 borrowed) to 36 percent. They are called payday loans because that is the interval between paychecks at most employers.
Statewide, the number of payday lendin offices rose nearly 15-fold between 1996 and 2006 to 1,562. That is more than the combined total of restaurants operated by the McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's chains in Ohio. The industry has fought hard against a lower interest-rate cap, arguing it would put them all out of business. Industry officials say they offer a valuable service to those who can't get a loan anywhere else and are a better option than late fees or bounced checks.
Opponents say the two-week loans trap too many people in a cycle of debt, where they need a new loan to pay off the previous one.
Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist, appointed State Senator and candidate for U.S. Representative, 15th District, weighs in with a typical Republican response by saying setting caps that low would be an overreaction to the issue and shut off credit to those who need it. "Most of these people are in the payday lending marketplace because their credit is not very good," he said. "Those people are not going to get the best interest rate." He has also said, "You can't take away people's ability to screw up their own financial situation by taking away the legal loan products, because they'll move to the illegal loans."
Ohio Attorney General Mark Dann is conducting a public hearing on the issue on Wednesday, April 9, 4:00 p.m., at Good Shepard Baptist Chrch, 1555 E. Hudson. For more information, contact Cathy Johnston at 280-1984 or cathyjohnston@cohhio.org.
There remains a critical need for Democratic poll workers in Franklin County for the March 04 Primary.
This need includes Presiding Judges (who manage the polling place and supervise the other judges) and regular Judges (who variously oversee the poll books and voter indentification and signature requirements; oversee the provisional ballot process; or oversee the operation of the voting machines).
Presiding judges are paid $160 for the work, training and transportation costs. The presiding judges are required to take a four-hour training course.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Recently the executive committee of UAPA voted to support the passage of Ohio House Bill 333. It limits the annual interest rate charged on a typical two-week loan (from payday lenders such as Check Into Cash and Always Payday) from the current 391 percent (about $15 per $100 borrowed) to 36 percent. They are called payday loans because that is the interval between paychecks at most employers.