Jason Stinnett, a bankruptcy and consumer litigation attorney at a non-profit law firm in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is familiar with the devastating impacts of predatory payday lending. His clientele are mostly Black women, many of whom support families on less than $1,500 a month. To pay for basic living expenses like rent and groceries, some borrow from local consumer finance companies. It is easy to accumulate debt from these loans, but hard to escape it. The interest rates on payday loans in Baton Rouge can reach higher than 33%, and it is not uncommon for companies to sue borrowers for debts that amount to more than their yearly income.

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