Tuesday 2nd July

There have always been loan sharks, and I suppose it would be almost impossible to completely legislate them out of existence.  When people are so desperate for money they will resort to anything and risk their entire existence for a few quid.  But when they are caught their punishment should be relative to the damage they have done; to prey on other people’s misery is one of the worst crimes.

But we seem to have got ourselves into a legitimate loan shark world where the likes of Wonga and PayDay Pig and many others leaping into the lucrative field are advertising on the television.  The whole idea of pay-day loans is sickening.  Of course when you are desperate to pay a bill, or to put food on the table, a loan of a hundred pounds seems a trifling business.  The little fact that you will sign away one hundred and twenty when your wages hit the bank seems unimportant in the scheme of things at the time.

The trouble is that the people taking out pay-day loans are by and large fairly ignorant, at least in terms of managing their finances, and either do not realise or do not care that they are being preyed upon so voraciously.  And the next month as they are now one hundred and twenty pounds short the temptation is all the more pressing to borrow that sum and repay one hundred and forty five.  In fact the numbers I am quoting are at the lower end of the scale charged by some.  It is in fact akin to stealing sweets from babies’ mouths.

Then there is gambling and the also increasing proliferation of betting firms advertising on telly.  From smart city slickers to bored housewives we are being exhorted to have a flutter.  What a sad world.  And undoubtedly some of those payday loans may end up straight in the pockets of the bookmakers.  And undoubtedly too the same greedy Tory businessmen will be running both disgusting schemes.   F*^k them all.