Some jackwad with the not so subtle username of paydaylendingrep defended payday lenders in the comment thread of the editorial I mentioned yesterday. Here’s what he said:
To be clear, not all customers who use payday loans are in poverty. Research shows payday advance customers to be low to middle income, educated, working families, with most earning between $25,000 and $50,000 annually. The fact is that payday lenders provide short-term credit to a broad cross section of Americans because there is widespread demand for their financial services.
My response: Yes and a lot of people smoke crack so that must make it okay to be a crack…
Last week I wrote an editorial about local poverty that appeared in the Muncie Star Press. The piece was in response to multiple editorials in the paper about poverty in Muncie, specifically the poverty stats that just came in from the 2010 census.
Muncie is home to Ball State University. Students account for about 1/4th of Muncie’s population, and since they don’t earn much they are essentially living at or below the national poverty level. Anyhow, everyone was arguing about what the numbers mean, how to factor in/out the students,…
They’ll be 7 billion humans on Earth by the end of 2011. If you are able to watch the video below from the comfort of your home, you are one of the privileged few. I think that comes with some responsibility. I’ll get to that in the near future.
National Geographic magazine is doing a series on world population. A piece by Robert Kunzig titled 7 billion begins with 17th century scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek examining his own semen. Despite the odd beginning, it’s worth a read.
Ten bucks might not seem like a lot, but I started the year as an unemployed writer. How cliché, no? I could’ve spent the money buying a new/fresh pair of sweatpants from Wal-Mart each week ($7), eating hot pockets ($3 with coupons), and watching the Price is Right. But the Price is Right sucks now that Drew Carey took over.
(My Why Price is Right sucks now theory: When Bob Barker was the host, the host, decor, and cheesy games all matched. But Drew Carey is a little too hip (and by too hip I mean that his hips…
I hopped on the stage and faced the crowd. A thousand students stared at me, laughing at my jokes, being pin-drop silent when they were supposed to be. Every one of them had read my book. I introduced them to the workers pictured on the 30-foot screen behind me who I had met on my Where am I Wearing trip. I talked about global poverty. I talked about the decade long journey that started with my first solo-trip to Australia, that led to writing, that led to my book, that led me here to this stage.
