TheState.com: Warren Bolton

Payday lenders pulling out all stops to head off regulation

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:15 EDT

WHAT A difference a few days make in the battle to regulate payday lenders.

Oh, and a few dollars — tens of thousands of them, really — might make a difference too.

Just last Thursday, Labor, Commerce and Industry Chairman Harry Cato told me he was confident his panel would move legislation on payday lending to the full House for a vote. “I’m very supportive of more regulation of this industry,” he said.

So imagine my surprise when I got a call Wednesday from a consumer advocate telling me Rep. Cato had said the bill wouldn’t make it out of committee. I had heard last week he was going to take such action, and asked him about it. He denied it.

I called up the wires Wednesday to read this Associated Press story: “The South Carolina legislator determining the fate of new consumer protections in payday loans has taken $16,500 in donations from that industry for the political action committee he runs,” the lead paragraph read.

‘Chief’ Carter could be best thing to happen to ‘city manager’ Austin

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:15 EDT

I’VE GOT two words for those who say Columbia city manager Charles Austin needs to pay more attention to running the city’s administration and stay out of Police Department affairs.

Tandy Carter.

If the city’s new police chief is able to rebuild morale, build strong relationships with diverse communities and keep the peace across the city, he would have done his job — and he would have put the man many of us have so long respected and admired as “Chief Austin” in position to, once and for all, be “city manager Austin.”

For sure, recommendations from a group of USC professors, which call for organizing the police and other departments into bureaus and putting some distance between Mr. Austin and those divisions, will help.

Mr. Austin said he will lump all the city’s public safety agencies under one bureau as suggested in the USC review of the city’s organizational structure.

Tougher enforcement key to reining in payday lenders

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:13 EDT

IF LAWMAKERS fail to do the wise thing and ban payday lending, they must not only pass tough rules governing the predatory practice, but they must make sure the regulations are aggressively enforced.

It’s bad enough that the current law favors lenders. Worse, the division of the Board of Financial Institutions that regulates payday lenders, title lenders and finance companies doesn’t adequately defend consumers.

That’s why some advocates want the attorney general or the Department of Consumer Affairs to have more of the responsibility to enforce any new payday lending regulations.

After he and others filed lawsuits against payday lenders last year, Sen. John Hawkins said the board doesn’t do a good job of enforcement: “As a senator, I’ve been very disappointed in the Board of Financial Institutions.”

During Senate subcommittee hearings last year, Dean Bratton, director of the Consumer Finance Division of the Board of Financial Institutions, testified that the state’s pitiful law gives the board no real way to protect consumers.

Lack of usury law, legalized check kiting fuel payday lending

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:15 EDT

SOME LAWMAKERS and others say the government shouldn’t get involved in payday lending, insisting the market will determine the predatory practice’s fate.

But the market didn’t create payday lending; the government did. As a matter of fact, the success of legalized loan sharking in South Carolina can be attributed to two critical, mistaken, decisions by our Legislature: the repeal of the state’s usury law and the legalization of check kiting.

While states such as North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and, more recently, Arkansas have chased payday lending from their borders, the predatory lenders continue to exist — and thrive — in South Carolina.

There are a number of reasons why that’s so. Among them, in addition to the fact that lawmakers don’t have the will to ban the practice, is the fact that South Carolina has no usury law.

That’s no typo, and I’m not joking. People often call or e-mail asking why payday lenders can charge an annualized interest rate of 391 percent. Isn’t that usury, they ask. Not in the great, business-friendly, buyer-beware state of South Carolina.

Payday-lending ‘reform’ should mean helping consumers

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:21 EDT

WHILE OTHER states clamp down on payday lending, it’s unclear what South Carolina will do: coddle the industry as it has since the late ’90s, or enact tough rules that help borrowers escape deeper debt spawned by these so-called emergency loans.

It’s not clear because payday lenders, who typically dump tons of cash into lawmakers’ campaigns, particularly in an election year such as this, are putting on a full-court press to prevent any legislation from passing that might significantly benefit borrowers.

For their part, senators have unequivocally said they want to rein the industry in, and have approved a bill that would do just that. Under the Senate bill, lenders still would be able to charge the outrageous annualized rate of 391 percent, but borrowers could only get one loan at a time, and the amount would be limited based on their incomes. Also, there would be a seven-day cooling-off period between loans.

At one time, it appeared the House was leaning the way of the Senate — and it still might end up there. Rep. Harry Cato, chairman of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, which is reviewing the payday-lending legislation, predicted the committee would propose strong changes that would prevent abuse by lenders and consumers.

Well, the Banking and Insurance subcommittee led by Rep. Nikki Haley is making changes all right — but they’re aimed at watering down the Senate bill.

Here’s hoping winds of change lead to total smoking ban in city

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:47 EDT

COLUMBIA CITY Councilman E.W. Cromartie’s second thoughts about exempting bars from a proposed smoking ban is an example of why it’s good for local governments to have the right to set such policy.

If this were on the state level, there would be little chance of a swift change, if there was a chance of change at all. State lawmakers would be bombarded by tobacco lobbyists, and any change would be delayed for who knows how long. But on the local level, elected leaders can change directions much more quickly, and without the threat of a horde of lobbyists at their doors.

Here’s hoping Mr. Cromartie follows through and switches his position. While some might criticize him for reconsidering this issue, it makes sense — and is even admirable — when an elected official, after listening to various arguments and diverse information, is willing to admit he’s having second thoughts.

Mr. Cromartie said the original decision to exempt bars from the city’s proposed smoking ban was made long ago and might need to be revisited.

Restaurant owners make a compelling argument when they say they would be hurt by the city banning smoking at their establishments but not at bars. Many restaurants have bars.

A good Columbia won’t be great until it masters the basics

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:17 EDT

COLUMBIA IS poised to develop a break-out economy and compete with larger cities — the Austins and the Raleighs — as unprecedented growth continues.

The Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce sees the possibilities and has launched an effort called “Good to Great” to help leverage Columbia’s — indeed the Midlands’ — people, attributes and resources to propel it toward greater success.

I think it can happen. But only if the city can get its act together.

While it’s exciting to see the renewed energy and focus on moving the city forward, the visions of new development, new jobs, a transformed economy, new tax dollars, new residents, new visitors and other advancements will remain just visions if the city doesn’t learn to do the basics well.

Columbia’s government suffers from leadership, operational and structural problems that hamper its ability to get the basics right — police protection, bookkeeping and spending priorities come to mind. Those problems must be corrected if Columbia is to move from good to great.

Physical activity key to improving kids’ academics, behavior

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:17 EDT

I WAS TALKING with a friend recently who lamented the lack of adequate physical exercise students get at school these days.

His daughter, an athlete, had already used up her physical education elective for the year and wasn’t afforded time during the day to expend energy, burn off fat and strengthen her body.

Many schools in South Carolina and across America are cutting back on P.E. and recess time due to pressure to meet increased test score and academic standards.

While it’s supremely important to insure children perform academically, we can’t afford to allow physical activity to be squeezed out. If we don’t ensure their physical health, we can — and it appears have — contribute to kids’ becoming overweight and hyperactive.

Report after report points to how sedentary and obese children have become. South Carolina ranks seventh nationwide in overweight children ages 10-17, according to a report from the Washington-based Trust for America’s Health.

Boost black-owned businesses to bolster state’s economy

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:13 EDT

IF SOUTH CAROLINA is to reach its full economic potential, it must help black-owned businesses grow.

That’s a key headline from the final chapter in the Columbia Urban League’s “State of Black South Carolina.”

“In the middle of the first decade of the new millennium, South Carolina is found among the states with the highest unemployment rates and the highest income inequality in the nation, even before the consideration of additional inequalities resulting from generations of racial disparities,” authors John A. Cole and Lucy J. Reuben wrote.

They’re right in saying that for the state to thrive, black businesses — and you can include other minority- and women-owned businesses too — must thrive. If black-owned businesses don’t do well, black people as well as their communities will continue to lag behind economically.

The result? It will be impossible for South Carolina to become competitive, increase per capita income and improve overall quality of life, as business and political leaders envision.

Black Caucus’ work consists of more than just passing laws

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:16 EDT

S.C. LEGISLATIVE Black Caucus members said their efforts to address unfair treatment of black motorists by state troopers is an example of the kind of substantive work they do on behalf of citizens.

As a result of the Caucus’ complaints, the director of the Department of Public Safety and the top Highway Patrol officer have resigned, a number of troublesome stops and actions have been unearthed, a federal investigation is under way, and lawmakers as well as the media are closely scrutinizing the patrol.

“I don’t view that as being too ‘symbolic,’” said Leon Howard, chairman of the Black Caucus.

Rep. Howard and other Caucus members took issue with a column I wrote highlighting findings in a chapter of the Columbia Urban League’s “State of Black South Carolina.” In the chapter, Dr. Todd Shaw and Willie Black take a historical look at the political landscape and outline what they see as the new racial structure and the politics that keep black South Carolinians from gaining more political power.

In exploring what differences black elected officials have made in the lives of African-Americans, the authors focus on the S.C. House because of the number of blacks in that body.

Eastover election comes at critical time

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:14 EDT

THE TOWN of Eastover is at a crossroads.

You’ve likely seen the headlines: Mayor Chris Campbell was recently sentenced to 18 months in prison for voter fraud, among other things; the town can’t complete an audit; it can’t afford to operate a relatively new sewer system; and it can’t afford a police department.

With an election coming up next Tuesday, it’s critical that the town elect dependable, trustworthy people who not only have Eastover’s best interest in mind, but who can lead it out of the morass it finds itself in. The town’s future depends on voters choosing the right people to serve.

Three people have filed to run for mayor: Geraldene Robinson, a councilwoman and former mayor, Leroy Faber and James Gambles. The candidates for two vacant council seats include incumbent Anthony Gibson, Judith Bailey, Dedrick Edwards and Richard Johnson.

Mr. Gibson has had his own troubles. He’s been arrested multiple times on various charges. On one occasion, he was charged with malicious injury to property and assaulting a police officer after trying to force his way into Town Hall with a crowbar. He said he was seeking evidence of financial wrongdoing by the mayor.

In Columbia, the few often choose who’ll govern the city

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:15 EDT

COLUMBIA IS experiencing the best of times: It’s in the midst of the largest building boom in its history.

It’s also experiencing some of the worst of times: The police department, as a new chief is chosen, is in disarray; the finance department is under heavy scrutiny because of bookkeeping woes; and overall trust of city government is at a low point.

You’d think with all that’s going on, voters would be champing at the bit to get to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots for Columbia City Council. But, if history holds true, they won’t show.

Part of the reason may be that the city holds elections at a most inopportune time: April, spring, when people are thinking about planting and mowing and watering, not voting. These elections should be held in November, at the time of the general election, when more people go to the polls.

But until that change comes, people must make up in their minds that municipal elections, whenever they’re held, are worth turning out for.

Is the Rev. Wright more David Duke or a prophetic voice?

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:16 EDT

“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”

No, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright isn’t at it again.

That’s Jesus addressing the “scribes, pharisees and hypocrites” in Matthew 23:33. He gave them a pretty good dressing-down in that chapter. That kind of language wasn’t unusual during that time. It wasn’t hate speech, but a way of calling people out, to get their attention. The idea was to get them to see their wrong. Many prophets used strong language to get leaders and the people to change their ways.

I wonder how Jesus or the prophets would be received today, considering many people’s response to the Rev. Wright.

A firestorm was set off — putting Sen. Barack Obama and his relationship with his former pastor firmly under the microscope — when media outlets began airing snippets of some of the Rev. Wright’s old sermons. Among other things, the Rev. Wright used Sept. 11 to denounce the violence and war America has exacted on other nations.

Parent, positive peer pressure key to controlling gangs

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:13 EDT

POLICE, YOUTH organizations and enrichment programs are key to helping combat gang and youth violence.

But they’re not more potent than Mom and Dad. No one can help save youths like loving, engaged parents willing to discipline their children as well as fight off negative outside influence.

Youths from all communities — black, white, Hispanic, rich, poor, suburban, rural — join gangs. But the problem is acute among African-Americans, and black parents must get involved.

Trustworthy, positive friends focused on achievement and willing to resist as well as distance themselves from trouble can also be a defense against gangs.

That’s long been my take, and after reading Dr. Kenneth Campbell’s two chapters on gang and youth violence in the Columbia Urban League’s “State of Black South Carolina,” I’m sticking to it.

America can’t disown the Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:50 EDT

SEN. BARACK Obama can’t disown the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor.

Neither can America. The Rev. Wright was made in America. Some of the ingredients weren’t pretty — U.S.-grade prejudice, racism, separation, injustice.

Yes, some of the Rev. Wright’s words, short clips from the hundreds of sermons he delivered over more than three decades, offended and shocked many. I disagree with some of his comments. But to say he was simply spewing hate is to misunderstand the indelible link between the black church and the black experience.

The black church has long been a prophetic voice in the lives of black people as it’s shocked the conscience of America. It’s been the balm for those hurt by slavery, discrimination and hate. It’s been hope for those who felt freedom and equality would never come.

African-Americans have long trusted in God as a deliverer — a liberator. When no one else would, black preachers challenged the status quo, rattling the cages of power and demanding justice. They embraced the theme in Scripture that God protects the downtrodden, the abused.