Lawmakers must address predatory lending

Google announced last week that it will no longer sell ads to lenders who charge borrowers more than a 36 percent annual interest rate for loans of 60 days. Kudos to Google.

The 2015 Nevada Legislature could have supported a similar effort. Assembly Bill 318 would have imposed limits on the interest that payday and title lenders could charge Nevada’s active military personnel. AB 318 would have adopted the lending practices of the Military Lending Act, which limits to a maximum of 36 percent the interest rate lenders may charge for certain loans made to active, guard and reserve service members, and their spouses and certain dependents. At 36 percent, that’s still $360 to borrow $1000.

AB 318 died in committee.

Most payday and title lenders offer quick financing, long terms and rates of 200 percent to 500 percent — all secured against a valuable asset. These lenders reap huge profits at the expense of Nevada veterans, active service members and others who often fall prey to churning one loan to pay off another.

Thanks to Google, the issue of predatory lending will be in the spotlight, perhaps providing incentive for the 2017 Legislature to protect Nevadans from damaging lending practices.

Nancy Brown

Reno

On camera

I just moved from Washington state to Henderson. I lived in Lynnwood, where cameras were located at many an intersection. You run the light, the picture is taken and mailed to you with the $124 fine. No questions asked. No court case as the camera shows the line, the light and your license plate and the location of the car — all in one package deal.

It’s so easy and it’s very helpful. Las Vegas and Henderson could sure use a few of these. Just think what the city could do with the profits. Maybe buy another camera or two.

Ilene Chapman

Henderson

Bathroom wars

The solution to the transgender bathroom problem is very simple. Simply re-label all bathrooms “Anybody Anytime.” The only people hurt by this are those who have no problem identifying with the body they were born with. The president and Justice Department apparently don’t care about these individuals.

If there is a cost to meeting the current demands of the president and his Justice Department, I suggest that all 50 governors issue an executive order that all federal income tax currently being sent from their states be withheld until the costs of federal demands have been met. This should be satisfactory to the president given that he believes executive orders are the proper way to govern.

Even more troubling than the bathroom and locker room demands is the statement that states “risk losing federal education aid if they limit students to areas or teams based on their gender assigned at birth.” I guess this means that if your daughter or my granddaughter goes out for basketball and finds that a bunch of individuals who look like males but claim gender problems want to play, our girls are the losers. When this occurs — and it will — I guess our current federal officials will tell us, “So sad, to bad.”

It is difficult to have any faith in a group that issues edicts without examining all of the ramifications.

James Ford

Las Vegas

Trump’s world

Once again, the nominee of the GOP has stepped on his tongue. Donald Trump has called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. That would mean that the new mayor of London, a Muslim, could not visit the states. Just one more stupid comment to go along with nukes, taxes and the Wall Of America.

No wonder the flow is back to Mexico. Oh, yes, Valdimir Putin is one of his backers — that will help negotiate a lasting peace. I wonder of Germany’s Angela Merkel is the next to be shut out. She is a woman. Happy days.

Bob Hartman

Henderson