Times are tough and you can see it’s beginning to bite with the increase in pay day lending advertisements on the TV. With Wonga offering 4214% APR and QuickQuid at a meagre 1734%, Pounds to Pocket on their 287% APR seems an absolute bargain. At only 3.8% higher than the historic favourite of those with no security and needing money, Provident at 272.2% APR it really does look the smart choice for today.
But when the pariahs of our time, the bankers have historically lent at a rate of about 6-9% APR why would anyone charge so much?
The answer is that people are getting more and more desperate.
With more and more people taking out loans to make ends meet delivering the funds that families need to pay for rent, mortgage or food money at these kind of rates are becoming a greater part of each family’s ability to stay solvent.
When even someone as mainstream as the Archbishop of Canterbury recognises the need to held those experiencing poverty and the artificial distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor, surely it is time to kick into touch those that promote these differences.
Over this week, we have seen a little chink of hope in the three times House of Lords defeat of the Welfare Reform Bill with devastating implications for people with disabilities. To be frank after the lack of this kind of response to the NHS reform bill I didn’t think that it was possible. I guess it is down to the old “organise and agitate” slogan. Disabled people and organisations did excellent work in both putting together the Spartacus Report (the easy read version is here) and organising using traditional lobbying techniques and new social media. A lot to learn, a lot to get on the agenda .
