Pay Day Loan fee on the ballot

Last year the City Council passed new restrictions on payday loan businesses, in an attempt to slow the spread of predatory lenders in the city.  One of the regulations is a $1,000 per year license fee, which voters have to authorize in the April 8 election.

The Kansas City Post has an interesting perspective on the futility of licensing.  $1,000 is way too small to have any effect other than more expensive loans for poor people. The whole thing seems like a bit of too little too late.  The payday loan offices had already saturated Midtown and the East Side long before the City Council acted, and none of the new regulations will do anything to reduce their number.