Victory for exploitation of workers in Missouri
Barb ShellyIt is ironic and sad that the backers of initiative petitions in Missouri gave up their fight for a minimum wage increase and caps on payday loan interest rates on Labor day.
You can read all the details here. Essentially, anonymous donors (although almost certainly from the payday loan industry) threw up a series of barriers aimed at preventing citizens from voting on the measures. The final straw was a ruling from the Missouri secretary of state’s office that a number of signatures collected on petitions in the St. Louis area did not belong to valid voters.
Backers of the initiatives could have continued contesting that ruling, but essentially they are out of gas. Their concession means that Missouri will continue to pay minimum wage workers a paltry $7.25 an hour, virtually ensuring that those workers will find their way to payday lenders, where they will pay an average annual percentage rate of more than 400 percent. Missouri’s laws will be among the nation’s most welcoming to payday lenders.
So no, this is not a good Labor Day for working women and men in Missouri.
Kent Mueller
8 months, 3 weeks agoI’m not a fan of the pay day loan industry, but they do provide a valuable service. Credit where credit might not otherwise be available. I guess I have more confidence in the intelligence of individuals to make decisions for themselves than Barb does. And I guess I’m less willing than Barb to let government make personal choices for individuals.
And please clarify. Do you think they had enough valid signatures, or not? If so, then let’s lead the charge that they should be on the ballot. I’d be with you, Barb. But, if they didn’t have enough valid signatures, then what else is there to talk about?
George Hunsucker
Northland
8 months, 2 weeks agoSo ms. shelly, did they or did they not have the required number of valid signatures?
Seems pretty cut and dry, but I am not a smart lib that sees nuances like the meaning of the word “is”….