David Dayen has the story in The American Prospect. Here's an excerpt, but the entire story is worth a look:
It may seem axiomatic, but it’s rarely stated out loud: Businesses that rely on poor people need the economic system to keep churning out poor people to survive. You almost have to applaud the payday lending industry for finally making this explicit in Arizona.
A proposed constitutional amendment that looks likely to hit the ballot there next year would limit future increases to the minimum wage, may claw back scheduled increases already set to take effect, and eliminate a week of paid sick leave. One of the payday lending industry’s leading trade associations has bankrolled the measure, making plain the connection between a lack of income and the spread of predatory financial services. * * *
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* * * The annual Securities and Exchange Commission report of Elevate Financial, a publicly traded short-term lender, does contain such honesty. In a description of various risk factors to the business, Elevate writes, “Decreased demand for non-prime loans as a result of increased savings or income could result in a loss of revenues or decline in profitability … For instance, an increase in state or federal minimum wage requirements … could decrease demand for non-prime loans.”
