DPC Provides Further Testimony on Oregon House Bill 4116, DIDMCA Opt-Out
Domestic Policy Caucus Secretary/Treasurer Kent Kaiser, Ph.D., provided further testimony on Oregon House Bill 4116—this, before the Senate Committee on Labor and Business, on February 23, having testified earlier this month before the House Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.
DPC testified:
According to the Oregon State Treasury:
Nearly 17% of Oregonians have non-prime credit scores.
About 37% of Oregonians say they couldn’t cover a $400 emergency expense.
These are among the consumers who would be harmed by House Bill 4116, and you’d be pushing them into situations where they might gravitate toward desperate, maybe black market, options such as loan sharks. And many will choose black market options because they don’t have items to sell, which is one option that the bill’s proponents have often suggested. Others will choose the black market over the awkwardness of asking a family member or friend for short-term emergency loans, which is the other option that proponents of the bill have naively suggested.
If you are inclined to support this bill, please think about this: How many items do you personally own that you could sell for $400 quickly in an emergency? What about when a second or third emergency comes up? What would you sell then? Now, set aside your privilege and think about someone who is far less well off than you are—someone who doesn’t have much stuff to sell or much stuff that’s even worth $400 or acquaintances with enough money to buy the stuff. The prospect of coming up with $400 for an emergency expense is pretty bleak.
Now, if you are inclined to support his bill, please think about a 24-year-old coming up a little short on the monthly rent. He might turn to his mother today and say, “Hey, ma, could you loan me $100 to cover the rent? I can pay ya back on Friday.” And she says, “Sure, son, but you have to pay me a dollar a day for the loan.” Of course, the kid will take the deal—it’s a great deal. Indeed, this is the ideal scenario according to proponents of House Bill 4116. It’s also a 365% APR in an unregulated context that doesn’t help the kid build his credit score. And remember, many of the people in a similar situation come from families where no one has $100 to loan to a needy kid.
You wouldn’t send someone to the Alvord Desert without a water bottle. You shouldn’t banish poor Oregonians to a veritable credit desert with no way to purchase what they need to survive, either.
Please oppose House Bill 4116.