Gov. Ted Strickland said yesterday that he strongly supports a 36 percent interest-rate cap on payday lenders. Meanwhile, House Republicans have drafted a compromise bill that does not lower the interest rate but, they say, should free customers from the payday debt trap.
Although the twin developments are incompatible, they both represent blows to the burgeoning payday-loan industry in Ohio.
Payday-lending supporters now feel like they're being pummeled from all sides.