There is a cancer in our midst and it is using easy money as bait. These check-cashing stores are growing faster in Utah than anywhere else in the country, and there is no end in sight. The Salt Lake City Council has been trying to limit them to no more than one every 10 feet but with little luck.
You could get better rates from one of Tony Soprano's loan sharks then these scumsucking pigs who prey on the most vulnerable in society. One of the biggest pigs is Frank PIGnanelli, who is their most outspoken lobbiest. To Hear Frankie-The-Fink tell it, these human suck-holes do a great service. If you think charging 500 percent interest on your lousy $100 is a service, you would think getting run over by a semi as a great way to relieve back pain. The reason the Legislature has done nothing to reign in these thieves is because of the likes of Pignanelli and his ilk lining the pockets of legislators with donations.
If these neighborhood crooks help so many people why is it that they have filed more than 27,000 lawsuits against their grateful customers over the past couple of years. And Utah is so pure that we do not allow any form of gambling like the other 49 states do. At least when you buy a lottery ticket you know what your getting. When you borrow from one of these ATM suck-holes you know you're screwed—you just don't know by how much in the end.