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Payday lending
發(fā)薪日貸款
Shark bait
海底大冒險
The Labour Party launches an attack on payday lenders. It may be too late
工黨向發(fā)薪日貸款人發(fā)難，但這可能為時已晚。
IN THE real world, shoppers are moving online. But retail politics—selling eye-catching policies to voters—still starts on the high street. On October 17th Ed Miliband, Labour's leader, announced plans to “halt the tide of payday loan firms” into Britain's shopping districts that accelerated following the economic crisis in 2008.
現(xiàn)實生活中，顧客在網上購物。但是零售式競選政治—政客當面請求公眾以拉票的活動—仍然在繁華的商業(yè)大街上進行著。10月17日，工黨的領導人，艾德·米利班德，宣布“限制”在英國的商業(yè)中心建立“發(fā)薪日貸款公司”的計劃。自從2008年經濟危機以后，發(fā)薪日貸款公司在英國市中心發(fā)展速度加快。
Payday lenders are an obvious example of what Mr Miliband considers irresponsible capitalism. As well as making struggling high streets even less attractive, they are accused of stiffing impoverished customers with high interest rates. Nearly a third of payday loans are taken out to cover day-to-day household bills, Labour says. Excessive borrowing is a common cause of poverty, according to the Citizens Advice Bureau, a charity.
米利班德認為發(fā)薪日貸款人是不負責的資本主義的一個典型例子。發(fā)薪日貸款人不僅使得繁華的大街的吸引力減弱，而且也受到指控利用高利率詐騙貧窮的顧客。工黨宣稱，大約有三分之一的發(fā)薪日貸款用來支付家庭的日常開支。慈善機構公民咨詢局表明，過多的貸款是造成貧窮的普遍原因。
Mr Miliband proposes three prongs of attack. First, a Labour government would push the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to introduce some sort of cap on interest rates or charges. Second, it will increase the levy that lenders currently pay to the FCA and spend it on debt counselling and supporting credit unions (non-profit mutual lenders). Third, councils will be given new powers to prevent shops being turned into payday lenders.
米利班德提出了三條應對策略。首先，工黨政府可督促金融市場行為監(jiān)管局對利率或費用進行限制。第二，政府將提高款權人目前向金融市場行為監(jiān)管局繳納的稅收并將其用于債務咨詢，支持信用合作者（非營利共同貸款人）。第三，將授予委員會新的職權以避免商店成為發(fā)薪日貸款方。
Overall, these suggestions are modest. At present the government spends ￡13m ($21m) per year on encouraging credit unions. Labour wants to double that figure, suggesting the new levy would be fairly light. Any new cap on interest rates is unlikely to be tight. Changing planning laws—not a new idea—would have the most effect, but most high streets have plenty of payday loan shops already. There may be little pressure to open new ones.
總的來說，這些建議都很合理。目前，政府每年支出1300英鎊用于鼓勵信用合作社發(fā)展。工黨想增加一倍的支出，并認為新稅率將會有所降低。任何利率的新規(guī)定都不會太嚴格。改變計劃法律？—這并非是個新想法—可能會獲益匪淺，但是大多數(shù)商業(yè)街已經有很多發(fā)薪日貸款店鋪的存在了。開辦新的發(fā)薪日貸款店鋪不會承擔很多壓力。
Indeed, there are reasons to think that payday lending has peaked. Bank of England figures show that credit-card lending is picking up again after several years of decline. Partly thanks to government prodding, credit unions are trying to lure customers from payday lenders, spending more on advertising and speeding up their application processes. Even the Church of England wants to compete short-term lenders out of business.
確實，有理由認為發(fā)薪日貸款目前正是如日中天的時候。英格蘭銀行的數(shù)據(jù)顯示信用卡貸款在沉寂了幾年之后現(xiàn)在又開始復蘇。部分由于政府的刺激，信用合作社設法從發(fā)薪日貸款人那里爭奪顧客，加大了宣傳力度并加快了他們的申請程序。甚至英國國教都想競爭短期貸款。
That will not put off Mr Miliband. As he points out, real wages are still falling. And much like those other high-street bugbears, bookmakers and pawnbrokers, payday lenders will not disappear soon. But eventually the tide will go out—and politics will have little to do with it.
這并不會阻擋米利班德前進的腳步。他指出，工資會持續(xù)下降。和其他商業(yè)大街的頑疾一樣， 出版商、當鋪老板、發(fā)薪日貸款人都不會很快消失在人們的生活中。但最終潮水會退去—而政治和這關系不大。譯者：毛慧 校對：姜開峰
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