We at CFIF have consistently highlighted the peril of federal, state and local government efforts targeting…
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New Study Shows How Overregulating Short-Term Lenders Harms Consumers

We at CFIF have consistently highlighted the peril of federal, state and local government efforts targeting the short-term consumer lending sector.

Less than two years ago, we specifically sounded the alarm on a New Mexico law artificially restricting interest rates on short-term consumer loans.

Well, a new study entitled "A New Mexico Consumer Survey:  Understanding the Impact of the 2023 Rate Cap on Consumers" that surveyed actual borrowers confirms our earlier warnings:

Key findings include:

•Short-term,small-dollar loans help borrowers manage their financial situations, irrespective of the borrower’s income.

•The rate cap has failed to improve the financial wellbeing of New Mexicans, specifically those who had previously relied on short-term, small-dollar loans.

•…[more]

November 27, 2023 • 03:57 PM

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Founded in 1998, the Center for Individual Freedom is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission to protect and defend individual freedoms and individual rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

The Center seeks to focus public, legislative and judicial attention on the rule of law as embodied in the federal and state constitutions. Those fundamental documents both express and safeguard society’s commitment to individual freedom, not only through specific protections such as the Bill of Rights, but also through structural protections that constrain and disperse governmental authority.

In addition, the Center seeks to foster intellectual discourse by bringing together independent thinkers to examine broad-ranging issues of individual freedom in our global society. While the Center is decidedly for individual freedom, scholars and legal authorities who share that same basic philosophy differ as to the application of those principles in the complex world in which we live. The Center strives for balanced debate that encourages conflict resolution where there is tension between the rights of individuals and the requirements of government, as well as between individuals.

The Center engages in three distinct but complementary activities:

Legal activities. It is a fundamental premise of the Center that the courts are rapidly supplanting legislative and public initiatives, as our increasingly diverse Republic seeks to balance the interests of individuals, interest groups and government. The Center will engage constitutional authorities to participate in major litigation on behalf of fundamental individual rights protection.

Legislative activities. State legislatures and the US Congress at times introduce and pass legislation that violates the Constitution. The Center seeks to make its voice heard on important legislative issues affecting constitutional rights and freedoms.

Education. Through a variety of publications, seminar sponsorships, issues papers and briefings, news bulletins and broadsides, the Center seeks to reaffirm the plain language imperatives of the US Constitution, relating it to contemporary conflicts that cannot be allowed to erode or circumvent it.

Based in Alexandria, Virginia, the Center for Individual Freedom is a nonprofit, 501(c)(4) corporation that relies on private financial support from individuals, associations, foundations and corporations. For more information, please call us at 703-535-5836. To make a contribution to the Center please click on Donate to CFIF.

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