There have been questions raised in Parliament again over the regulation of instant cash loan companies. With the Office of Fair Trading already set to undertake an investigation into mis-selling, it is difficult to see what else the authorities are willing to do to cut off this essential lifeline to desperate households across the nation, many of whom would not get by without short term loans of this nature.
MPs are now calling for powers to swiftly revoke credit licenses, as a sector of the industry has been described as “opaque”. They also want to see ‘rollover’ amounts on short term loans limited, to curb spiralling debts of the citizens of this country in order to protect a ‘vulnerable’ sector of the community.
Here’s a good idea – why not create jobs for these vulnerable people that provide a liveable wage rather than retain the country’s wealth within a twenty-mile radius of number ten?
Why not stop the Bank of England letting the inflation rate rise by keeping the base rate low? Whilst the base rate is low, interest on savings is low. Whilst the public are being paid next to nothing on their investments, the government is reaping in millions more from inflation as the value of tax creeps up compared to public wealth. Traditionally, when the Bank of England raises its base rate, so too the banks raise their interest on savings, giving the public back their money’s worth on their cash, rather than see inflation eat away at its value.
Perhaps then, when pay rises start to overtake inflation, we will see a reduction in the millions relying on short term loans; until that point, attacking the only source of income that gets families from one payday to the next is enough to insight civil unrest. However, the millionaire’s row in the cabinet watch blindly as the poor, taking out short term loans wherever they can, pawning their gold to build back up the country’s reserves, get poorer with every passing day.
Rather than attack instant cash loan firms who, on £200 for 14 days may charge interest of £58, why not curb the unauthorised lending daily rate at the banks – fourteen days in unauthorised lending would cost the unfortunate individual £140 at some banks – two and a half times the amount on a instant cash loan.
And the government, who took our money – yes, the British taxpayer’s money – to bail out the banks, many of which we still own 80%, – are letting the banks plunder our cash and our savings, again. Whilst the government are actively allowing this to happen, it is not just sectors of our public relying on short term loans that are vulnerable, we all are.
There are elements of our society “opaque and unregulated”, but it’s not those online lenders that we should be worried about. Oh, no – there is a much greater power at work, and its heart beats in number ten.