Payday Loans, Poverty on Tap at State House on the
first day of the new General Assembly session
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| At the State House Interfaith vigil, left to right: new State Senator Cathie Cool Rumsey, Rep. Donna Walsh and Rep. Teresa Tanzi. Not pictured but close by: Rep. Larry Valencia |
By Bob Plain in
RIFuture.org
Payday loan reform legislation has one of the most
interesting coalitions at the State House; it includes the progressive
community, the faith community and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo. This is
because payday loans are bad for the state in general, poor people in
particular and a net drain on our economy.
ProJo columnist Ed Fitzpatrick made a great point about this event in Saturday’s ProJo.
He noted that Gov. Chafee and Bishop Tobin both had ample time over the busy
holiday season to debate what monicker we give to an ornament at the State
House and wonders if either will have time to show up for this interfaith vigil
meant to focus lawmakers attention on poverty.
“Surely, if they feel so strongly about a symbol of the season,
they can appreciate the symbolic power of uniting against poverty in a state
with the nation’s second-highest unemployment rate (10.4 percent),” he wrote.
“I mean, if they’re determined to take a principled stand, how about taking a
stand against poverty on the very spot where that controversial tree stood?”
Neither of them made it.
Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's
worked as a reporter for several different news organizations both in Rhode
Island and across the country.
