Something to scare you

[trystinn]

Many people in the Neo-Pagan community have spoken about the allegiance between this nation's poorest people and conservative Christianity. Spoken or considered it quietly in frustrated moments. Seems a few others have noticed it, too.

Notice along the Pacific Northwest and down into Southern California the many payday loan centers. Would it shock you to know that same corridor is where many of the military bases are? Granted, its prohibited for military folks to use them but we know it happens anyway.

Comments

A Slightly Deeper Look

[woolysw.livejournal.com]

If you take the time to skim the actual article (Usury Law and the Christian Right: Faith Based Political Power and the Geography of the American Payday Loan Regulation), although their mapping of the Payday lenders is quite good, their mappings of the "Christian Right" is, at best, based on secondary assumptions and at a far more coarse granularity ("Our hope is that this index of Christian political power, which is partly derived from the data collected at the federal level, will accurately reflect the political climate of the respective states.").

And then they make statements like "Conversely, it is surprising that in many states where Evangelicals and Mormons are few, and where legislators have proven to be neither socially conservative, nor well received by Christian political organizations that scripturally inspired usury laws effectively banning payday lending remain. Only a few states fit the pattern one would expect."

And "In simple terms, this means that we can be 99% sure that about 56% of the time when the Christian Power goes up, then payday lending per capita also rises." So they can be 99% sure that there's only a 6% better chance than random flip of a coin that the two are related?

It makes me suspect their conclusions, especially since I find the tone of the article somewhat less than academically distant.

[rstormcrow.livejournal.com]

I read the full article and found the math works...

Which is scary....

We so need a PAGAN/Socialist revolution.

[wild-heart.livejournal.com]

No time to read all of it . . . but I did find it interesting that it's now illegal for military families to seek payday loans.

The first time I ever saw a payday storefront was in Alamagordo, NM. When I moved to KY, I was flabbergasted at the sheer number of them. They're heavily clustered around Ft. Knox, then radiate outward. Guess I'll be seeing a lot of storefronts with For Rent signs soon.

They reek of desperation, much like OTB storefronts.

Meh.

[brock-tn.livejournal.com]

Fort Knox has been suffering from reduced troop levels for years. (I used to spend 2 weeks and 4-6 weekends there every year doing Army reserve duty.) I suspect that that has more to do with the empty storefronts than anything else. I can remember a time when Ft Knox Blvd, the last cross-connector between Wilson Road and Dixie Highway south of the post boundary, was a vibrant commercial area, with nary a vacancy to be found.

Knox is due to get a BIG influx of troops in the next couple of years, though. 3rd Corps Support Command is due to relocate there from Germany, and they are supposed to stand up an active-duty mechanized brigade there in the not-too-distant future. And then the Army's consolidated Personnel Management Command is supposed to move there as well, after the Armor Achool moves to Ft Benning. That's an increase of 3-4000 wage-earners overall, I should think, which ought to improve things in Radcliff.

Payday loan companies feed on the economically marginalized, the people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck anyway, andwho don't have any reserves for when the car needs a repair, or the refrigerator dies, or they have any other sort of unexpected bill. Since we started an all-volunteer military, and we now have LOTS of married junior enlisted personnel, there's lots of people out there around military bases who are on that economic margin. An E-2's paycheck, even with housing allowance and separate rations doesn't stretch all that far when it's trying to support two adults and one or two kids.

[wild-heart.livejournal.com]

Err, emmm. Although I've lived in L'ville for a year and a half, prior to that I lived in Vine Grove for 2 years. Vine Grove is next to Radcliff. I still drive through Ft. Knox (Dixie Hwy) at least 2x per month.

For the past 2 years, there's been an unprecedented building boom in the areas of Ft. Knox, Radcliff, and Vine Grove. Housing in Vine Grove easily doubled in 2007. Twice the number of houses. Elizabethtown is also seeing massive growth. However, from what I can see while driving, areas north of Ft. Knox on Dixie Hwy. still look like they're in a deep economic depression.

The influx of military personnel is already well underway.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

Could be interesting. :)

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

There's a whole host of 'rules' for military families, mostly segregated by rank/rate with no recognition of someone's age - so the 20 year old 3rd class is held to the same regs as the 30 year old one. Things you need command approval for if you are low ranked (not a complete list): marriage, mortgage, refinance, auto loan, adoption (non family member), etc. You cannot even get tax refund advances/loans any longer - high interest, short term after all. A huge car dealership just folded downtown in Oak Harbor due to the new tightening of predatory loans. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Leaves a huge hole downtown.

Now, here's where that gets bloody fricking ridiculous. Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln is a huge computer kiosk with a screen roughly 5 x 4 feet and it sells CARS and MOTORCYCLES. It is absolutely possible to buy a vehicle via the Boat all by computer. And there are huge incentives financially (interest-wise) in doing so.

So trap a couple thousand Navy men and women on a boat for months at a time, with very little in the way of entertainment, all earning higher salaries for serving in foreign waters. Many of which have no access to fresh air and sunshine for days at a time. Then give them the opportunity to buy a vehicle electronically while they are emotionally vulnerable and restless.

Gah.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

Fabulous points, Brock.

Have a military person take you on the base and you'll see a WIC (Women and Infant Children) and Foodstamps office. And nearby, off base, you'll find a DSHS office that keeps very busy investigating military families - they even have specially trained social workers here (we're friends with one, scary stuff) to handle 'us'. Its understood that low ranking enlisted service members will have too many children and the Navy pays you a bonus for having them (last time I checked its $25). The new enlisted low ranking housing going in is for four bedrooms and up - military housing requires each child to have their own room, much like Section 8 Housing regulations, though some exceptions are made.

Our Navy base has the busiest maternity ward in Western Washington. How's that for scary as all hell? Then add to that Whidbey Island has very little industry and almost zero opportunities for military wives to be employed outside of retail jobs - which there aren't many of, either.

[brock-tn.livejournal.com]

Oh, I KNOW all of these things, first hand.

As of five days ago, I've been professionally associated with the U. S. Army in one capacity or another continuously for the past 30 years. Throughout that time I have been living on or near an Army post. I am at present a civil service employee of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell.

I drive past the lending agencies across the street from Fort Campbell on a daily basis. "We lend to E-1 and up!" banners abound on Fort Campbell Boulevard. And they KNOW they will get their money back, because the command will find a way to force soldiers to pay their legal obligations.

Years ago, when I was an active duty section leader,and then as a platoon sergeant, I used to have to counsel my junior soldiers when they got into trouble. And I took my turn marching the company's defaulters over to the recreation center on paydays to make payments on their arrearages with the local utility companies.

Been there, done that, through four different colors of T-shirts.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

I actually meant my comments as a response to a responder to your post - sorry for the confusion. I'm well aware of your involvement in the military. :)

The E-1 signs have come down in our town, thankfully.

[losgannmaith.livejournal.com]

-=whispers=-

Actually that dealership Didn't fold... It moved to Anacortes. BUT, It's quite possible that it did have something to do with the tightened regulations on loans, especially here with the base.

[rstormcrow.livejournal.com]

Not at less that 1% of the population according to that study
lumping pagan/wiccan with new - age (rhymes with sewage)
No wonder many of us "declined to state" 16%

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

As I understand it, the main business was always in Anacortes. Good to know.