CLOUT, or Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together, is seeking to limit the APR on payday loans to 36%. Co-president Bishop Walter Jones claims that payday loan interest rates must be controlled.

The group is petitioning the Governor and Attorny General to join in their cause. Jones hopes to introduce legislation in the 2010 session of the General Assembly.

Groups like this make me throw up in my mouth a little bit. It never ceases to amaze me the ignorance that is so blatanly on display when you look at payday loan critics. And what is their flagship argument? APR is out of control!

Do these people have any idea whatsover what the acronym APR even stands for? ANNUAL percentage rate is what that means. Funny word annual...it means yearly. Keep in mind that APR is using a YEARLY metric to measure a loan that is design to be out no longer than TWO WEEKS!

I would pay 999,999,999,999% APR if you wanted, just allow me to decide how long the loan is out. I've decided that loan will be for ten minutes. Suddenly that astronomical number doesn't mean much, now does it?

Of course 400% APR would be a rip off if you were borrowing money for a year or more. You would pay far more in interest in that year than the loan was originally for. But payday loans are not annual loans, they are loans to help you get by until your next pay check arrives, that's it.

Yet these vocal boneheads can't figure that out. They think they are protecting people from evil payday loans. If they are so bad, why do so many people use them? Why do so few borrowers ever have any problem?

This is another example of the vocal minority asserting their will over the silent majority. We shouldn't stand for this. A few people (lobbyists) on the bank's payroll shouldn't be determining our credit optinos for us.

If I want acces to short term credit then I should have it. I don't care if a couple people might abuse this privilege, it's an option I want to have, regardless of how other people use it. We should all be entitled to this and lawmakers should not be worried about capping interest rates on payday loans.