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Perpetual racial huckster Al Sharpton has a new gig: pitchman for car title loans.
In commercials airing locally, the ever-colorful Sharpton stands on a stage with an American flag and happily declares, “Finally, there’s someone in Virginia who will loan money to people the big guys won’t loan to.”
Car title lenders give cash to those who own their cars free and clear, with interest rates that can approach 300 percent annually. The lender can repossess and sell the car if the short-term loan is not repaid on time. The controversial practice is permitted in about half the states, and consumer groups are pushing hard for more regulation. “These are predatory small loans,” said Jean Ann Fox of the Consumer Federation of America.
Al doesn’t feel any problem with the ads:
“If I felt this is in any way abusive, I would stop doing the ads,” Sharpton said yesterday. He filmed three commercials for LoanMax, a Georgia-based company with 150 offices across the country, and said he considers these loans different from predatory ones because the borrowers have assets (the car) but not the credit rating to get bank loans.
To virtually no one’s surprise, Al’s like-minded political brethren have felt differently about “predatory” lending. “Predatory Lending is the civil rights issue for this century,†says Congressional Black Caucus member Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH) who refers to the matter as a “civil rights issue.”
But this is Al Sharpton, folks. With a list of questionable activities as long as a Fidel Castro speech, Al will nevertheless get a pass on this, too. Besides, according to LoanMax president Rod Aycox, “People just love Reverend Sharpton.”
Speak for yourself, Rod.
