On Sunday night's Last Week Tonight, John Oliver earnestly dove into the world of "predatory lending," focusing specifically on payday loan companies. They offer what are supposed to be short-term loans, but if you don't pay the money back on time — as many people don't — annual interest rates can be as high as 1,900 percent. "Payday loans are the Lay's potato chips of finance," Oliver explained. "You can't have just one, and they're terrible for you."
After running through some entertainingly awful stories about the payday loan industry in Texas, Illinois, Arizona, and Ohio, Oliver conceded that the reason payday loan companies are so insidious is that sometimes people need money right away — even though a majority of Americans agree that payday lenders take advantage of them. To counteract the flood of payday loan commercials, often starring Montel Williams, Oliver aired a new "ad" by a different celebrity explaining why you would really, really exhaust all other options before turning to a payday lender — and listing some mildly NSFW options. --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in musicunder the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescueSpeed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in MoroccoSpeed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female presidentSpeed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. saysSpeed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprisingSpeed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
