Congressman Luiz Gutierrez has discovered the kryponite that has rendered him powerless to act in the interest of his constituents. Money from lobbyists.
Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing details how the payday loan industry in bankrolling efforts to have sympathetic (and by that I mean corrupt) legislators look the other way when it comes to payday loans with 391% APR interest rates.
Luiz Gutierrez (who also received contributions from the payday people) says the reason he's offering the industry this sweetheart deal after being on record as opposing this sort of thing is that their powerful lobbying has left him powerless to resist them: "...[T]hey're very powerful. Their influence should not be underestimated."
There's nothing like rich, powerful men colluding with rich, powerful business interests to heap misery on poor folks who are powerless to fight back. If only they lived in some sort of representative democracy.
Congressman who's giving payday loan companies legal 391% APR loans says he's powerless to resist their lobbying
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