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By Vivian Greentree

Early in my marriage while my husband was deployed I forgot to pay the rent. I ended up in a check-cashing shop on a Sunday because my apartment complex wouldn't take a check after the day rent was due. What I didn't anticipate was the shop’s 40% service charge of my $500 rent. This would now cost me $700; the shop grossed $200 for a 60 second transaction. I decided a better bet was to wait till Monday, go the bank, and pay the extra late fees. Consequently, I was never late on the rent again.

Unfortunately, for many others such an easy solution isn't always an option. Or so says University of Houston professor Howard Karger in his book, Shortchanged: Life and Debt in the Fringe Economy. Karger explores the predatory lending practices of pawnshops, payday lenders, check cashiers, rent-to-own stores, and “buy here-pay here” car lots. These establishments lure consumers with promises of "no money down" and "own it today." What these consumers don’t know is that they’re being ensnared in a web of exorbitant interest rates and hidden fees from which they will likely never escape. The prey is living in the “fringe economy.”

Much like the banks and industrialized farm interests preyed upon the migrant farm workers in John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, (with promises of "good wages" and "Company store on Camp Ground") modern day counterparts are preying on a new class of working poor. And just like The Grapes of Wrath juxtaposed the suffering of oppressed people and need for reformed social and economic justice, Karger exposes the hollowness of “The American Dream” in the land (of plenty) where millions of people struggle to survive.

Today, 53% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, 56 million don't have bank accounts, and many more have bad credit. Compound that with the recent passage of the “bankruptcy bill” in April 2005 and our nation's leaders have - quite effectively - destroyed one of the few opportunities for the working class to escape a cycle of debt.

The United States is the industrial nation with the greatest economic gap between the rich and the poor. Though greater consumer discipline is in order, that alone doesn't account for the fact that, according to Karger, the average payday loan customer is a woman 24-44 with a high school diploma earning less than $40,000 a year. Our nation's working poor are falling through the economic cracks and there is no one advocating to help them.

The need is overdue for greater government regulation to police the credit card industry, storefront loans, pawnshops, payday loans and tax refund leaders, check-cashers, and the rent-to-own industry. If the American government can bail-out the airline and motor vehicle industries, why can’t the personal bankruptcy of those even less able to fend for themselves not be a priority of this Administration?

Social responsibility isn't mentioned much in corporate America; much to the consumer's detriment. In the mindset of “bottom lines rule” and “Cash is King,” it's highly unlikely that businesses will regulate themselves without outside intervention. It is a matter of economic and social justice that this “fringe economy” be addressed.

While so many politicians latch on to any "moral cause" de jour, no one is discussing the real and terrible damage done to our social fabric through this shadowy netherworld of financial predators.

I like Karger's exploration of sensible solutions for improving fringe economy practices. He is realistic in his approach and doesn't ignore the risks businesses take when engaging in commerce with those in financial duress. He does, however, balance this perspective with compassion for those with limited resources and knowledge who are preyed upon when at their most vulnerable.

Do you remember the scene in the film version of The Grapes of Wrath where Tom Joad (played by Henry Fonda) energetically rushes to collect as many bushels as he can while the other workers look on dejectedly, telling him he is wasting his time. They already learned hard work wasn't enough to rise above the system that has entrapped them. Who hasn't seen that same look in a harried waitress or overworked car wash attendant?

I believe this fringe economy is an issue deserving to be at the forefront of our representative's hearts and minds. As our national deficit continues to rise exponentially – much of which is from growing personal debt of America’s citizens – politicians need to realize the grave impact this has on our future economic stability, as well as the productivity of a people leading the world in commerce.