Listen

Description

Metro Ideas Project is a local policy think tank that is focused on the challenges of mid-sized cities. Their Executive Director, Joda Thongnopnua, joins us to discuss their latest research project exploring the challenges that communities face when dealing with predatory lenders.

As an industry, predatory lending was virtually non-existent thirty years ago, yet today brick-and-mortar payday lenders are more common than McDonalds. So in this episode we explore how this industry became so ubiquitous, who are they targeting with their high-interest financial loans, and, finally, what best practices or policy recommendations empower communities to curb these predatory institutions that take advantage of our neighbors?

Referenced in this episode: