Walked through downtown Detroit last weekend and noticed something odd

Every single bus stop bench was advertising a payday loan place or a check cashing business. No banks, no grocery stores, just predatory lending ads in a 3 block stretch. Has anyone else seen this pattern in their city?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_hayes189d ago

Tbh I don't really see the big deal. Payday loan places and check cashing joints are everywhere in poor neighborhoods, yeah, but bus stop benches are just ads. Theyre gonna put whatever pays the bills on there. Last week I saw one advertising a divorce lawyer right next to a church. Nobody was clutching pearls over that.

betty_ward9d ago

Your point about the divorce lawyer ad is funny but it's actually PROVING the issue. Divorce lawyers and churches are both normal services people use at some point. Payday loan places are designed to TRAP people in debt with 400% interest rates. There's a big difference between a service people need and a business model that specifically targets poor folks to make them poorer. That bus bench isn't just advertising, it's actively putting a predatory operation right in someone's face while they're waiting for a bus because they can't afford a car.