Paid Blog Posts for Payday Loans
I’ve noticed a rather distressing trend in many mainstream blogs: they write paid posts advocating payday loans. I’ve known for a while that payday loan places have been running aggressive advertising campaigns on the web which include buying paid posts on blogs. I just naively assumed most bloggers wouldn’t fall for that.
Well, I admitted it was a naive thought! I also thought people read PF blogs more than any other type LOL A few illusions have been crashing down over the past several months.
I’ve scratched my head, wondering what justification bloggers tell themselves to help them sleep at night after writing a paid post for a payday loan place, and then it occurred to me: not everyone knows how bad payday loans truly are. Seriously, how long did it take Congress to figure out what payday loans do to the military? How much longer did it take Congress to finally write and pass a law limiting how much interest payday loan places are allowed to charge military members?
Even though Congress finally woke up and discovered how badly payday loans were affecting military readiness, those same protections are not extended to civilians. The average interest rate on a payday loan is 400% (NOT a typo!) with anecdotal evidence of up to 800% interest on some (Yes, that is EIGHT HUNDRED PERCENT interest) when “processing fees” are factored into the equation.
So why would otherwise ethical and honest bloggers be accepting money to write posts extolling the (supposed) “virtues” of payday loans? That question has been rolling around my mind for well over a week, since I saw a payday loan paid post at a blog I respect. Then, the answer occurred to me: some people just don’t know how bad payday loans truly are!
Not everyone lives in a military town where the payday loan, check cashing, cash advance, and title pawn shops line up thicker than the fast food, bars, and strip clubs outside nearly every single gate leading off post. Not everyone has lived on the “poor” side of town, where every liquor store has a payday loan place attached to it. Not everyone has stuck their foot into that trap due to ignorance. Not everyone has served in the military and seen soldiers trapped in the debt cycle, or know about the hideous collection tactics payday loan places use.
There are some bloggers (even PF bloggers) who just don’t see a problem with advertising payday loans. There are also quite a few who just don’t know about how nasty payday loan places truly are (and very VERY bad for the “customer”/victim). To the first category, I have nothing that I can say that will change their minds. To the second category, I truly hope this post and these links will open your eyes and convince you to take down those paid posts that advocate payday loans. There is a reason payday loans are often called “legalized loan sharking.” They make so much money off their “customers” (victims) with their 200-800% interest that they are easily able to afford to pay handsomely for these ads and blog posts - and still make profits.
