It’s tough being a member of the military, particularly in a time of war.  Being a member of the military throughout wartime means a long time away from home and your family.  For people that are not abroad, there is the continuous worry that fighting may lie in your future.  Being a member of the military is a tough and demanding job and most U.S. citizens have tremendous respect for individuals to elect to sign up.  Regrettably, that regard seems to be lost on the cash advance business, which seems to do a disproportionate amount of its business with soldiers.

If you live in a city with a military base, you won’t have to look too hard to find a cash advance loan store, which have a tendency to bunch near military bases.  Cash advance loans, also known as payday loans, are short term, small value loans that typically range from $100-500.  In return for borrowing the money for a period of fourteen days, borrowers pay a charge that varies from $10-30 per $100 borrowed by producing a postdated check.  At the end of the two-week time period, the loan company can cash the check or the customer can settle with cash.

Regrettably, many individuals can’t pay back the personal loan in two weeks’ time.  In that case, it becomes mandatory to “roll over” the cash loan for a different fourteen days by paying the fee again.  For a few borrowers who live paycheck to paycheck, this can turn into a bad cycle that turns a loan of hundreds of dollars into a debt of thousands dollars.

The industry targets military personnel because they have regular paychecks and are more likely to pay back than non-military consumers in the same income group.  Usually, enlisted personnel are not well paid, so the likelihood that they will need such loans is better than average.  Moreover, many of our soldiers are relatively young individuals who may not fully grasp the ramifications of borrowing money at rates that exceed 400% per year.

Military officials are worried about the issue, which negatively affects military preparedness.  Members of the military that are preoccupied with their financial woes are less likely to be prepared to face their primary duties, which is to protect us in wartime.   While several states, such as Arizona, are trying to cut the frequency of payday loan stores near military bases, the general business-friendly stance many members of Congress suggests that a nationalized attack on this problem is not likely soon.  

While the proliferation of yellow ribbons on automobiles indicates that virtually all People in the United States support their troops, it would seem that the fast cash industry does not.