Payday Loan Sharks in Doral, Chumming it up with Trump

Last week, the payday lending trade group, CFSAA, held their annual conference at none other than the Trump Doral resort near Miami. Last year, they moved their annual conference from Phoenix to Trump’s gaudy hotel and golf course. Later that year, then-director of the CFPB Mick Mulvaney signaled that the agency would roll back crucial protections against predatory lending practices, and finally this year, current Director Kathy Kraninger submitted a proposal to gut consumer protections. Seems like  pay-for-play is a strategy the Trump administration is more than willing to utilize.

We aren’t the only ones who noticed. The Miami New Times detailed how opportunistic trade groups, including CFSAA, have been funneling money into the Trump Doral for political favors: “Critics say the setup gives the appearance of pay-for-play, and sometimes the arrangement seems pretty transparent. After the payday lending industry held its conference at Trump Doral last year, for example, the Trump administration rolled back Obama-era rules that restricted how payday loans are extended.”

Visuals of the Opposition

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The payday lenders were met with a message to stop the debt trap they’ve ensnared on so many vulnerable consumers. Along with an airplane flyover in Miami and near the Doral area, the partying payday lenders also saw a mobile billboard, which doubled as an informational tool for pedestrians to get involved in the fight against the repeal of crucial protections.

Keeping Up the Drumbeat

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On Wednesday, March 20, dozens of activists and advocates joined in a twitterstorm to keep up the drumbeat on this administration allowing industries to pay for political influence. Thank you for those who joined and found creative ways to highlight the political corruption that is leading to hurt felt by American consumers.