SouthDaCola-56-knudson-video-lotter

Most may tell you that they don’t take loans out from pay day lenders for gambling but for rent. Which is probably true, because what usually happens is they spend their paycheck on gambling then don’t have money over for rent.

It will be interesting to see if Video Lottery revenue goes down due to the fact people won’t be able to get quick cash. I suspect in the first year it will probably be around 15% percent, but I think within the 2nd year, you are going to see revenue way down due to the closure of pay day lenders.

Maybe it is time to eliminate VL once and for all?

My cameraman asked Steve if we could come this morning and film and interview some of the people harassing him, and he didn’t want us to, then he calls a press conference and invites the ‘real’ media;

Hildebrand says for the last two weeks, his business has been visited by large groups of people who’ve disrupted staff and other customers.  Hildebrand believes the missionaries behind movement are connected to the payday loan industry.

Floyd Pickett is the organizer and says he’s here to do homeless outreach.  He says the people he’s bringing in are paying customers who aren’t doing anything wrong.  He has plans to bring in even more people.  On Wednesday, he says he’ll bring in a bus of 150 people.

Hildebrand says he believes Pickett works for the man who owns North American Title Company.

Of course there is ‘obvious’ reasons why this is going on, Pitty Patt Powwers couldn’t resist to spin this being about helping the homeless and elitism;

It seems more than a bit elitist and snobbish to complain that these paying customers are being hauled in by his political opponents who are buying them food there.

So Patt, how many bumper stickers your campaign store business sold to Planned Parenthood and The Freethinkers? You know the business you were ‘unethically’ running while working for the SOS on the taxpayer’s dime. That’s right, you are Republican, you’ll take money from a dead guy as long as the check clears, doesn’t matter if you earned it or not.

This is truly hardball politics that have nothing to do with helping the homeless or missionaries. There is a part of me that feels sorry for Steve, but I also believe in KARMA. Steve’s political sins of the past may finally be catching up with him (you know, like getting Huether elected). BTW, why don’t you give your old meal ticket a call and see if you will help you out, or better yet your pal Barry in the White House.

I also find this ironic on another level, it doesn’t hurt to have a homeless shelter a few blocks away from his establishment for easy access to them, I have always felt that was a bad location for the shelter, and I bet Steve is thinking the same thing now.

At the end of the day, I will admit, this is fun to watch, gutter politics at it’s best.

Months ago a survey of SD Bread for the World members yielded strong support for endorsing a ballot initiative to limit payday loans and car title loans to 36% annual interest. (Current average annual interest is 574%.)  Thus, BFW-SD is one of the endorsers.

The organizers have been meticulous in their planning. Now the signature gathering begins.
3 ways you can help:
1. Find more endorsers.
Think of individuals or groups whose names would make positive influence in your part of the state, and ask for endorsements and let organizers know. (steve@hildebrandstrategies.com)
2. Contribute funds.
Every effort like this has expenses. Consider sending a donation (not tax-deductible) to South Dakotans for Responsible Lending, PO Box 709, Sioux Falls 57101.
One suggestion is to give as much as you would be willing to spend to get your granddaughter out of her payday loan.
3. Gather signatures. Lots of people are needed on this.
1. Ask if registered voter in SD.  2. Offer the Attorney General’s explanation.  3. Watch the signing of all 12 signatures on the page. (Don’t sign it yourself. Sign someone else’s petition.) 4. Sign at the bottom as circulator only before a notary, and send in the page.
To get blank petitions and the little pads of info with AG’s explanation, email to steve@hildebrandstrategies.com
A SD-specific website will be up soon: http://captheratesd.com/
Already there’s info on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/southdakotansforresponsiblelending
It’s not a partisan issue. All sorts of people agree that exploiting the poor is wrong. Every day in our state, people are caught in these dramatic cycles of debt. Better alternatives exist and are developing in the country. Let’s join the growing number of states with a 36% cap. Your effort on this will have a huge payoff in terms of improving the lives of thousands of vulnerable people in our state!
Thanks for your help.
“When a family has nothing to eat, because it has to make payments to usurers, this is not Christian, it is not human. This dramatic scourge in our society harms the inviolable dignity of the human person.”
-Pope Francis