At 7pm on October 12, we will be hosting a casual group discussion at Kaffeehaus in San Mateo about the challenges low-income people face when attempting to access affordable financial services that meet their needs. Lacking alternatives, many people are forced to take out risky, high-interest payday and title loans to make ends meet. FAIR Money is currently conducting a series of interviews with payday loan recipients to understand why people turn to these services and the effect they have on their lives.

Mehrsa Baradaran explores these issues and potential solutions book How the Other Half Banks: Exclusion, Exploitation, and the Threat to Democracy.

“…the banking industry, fattened on public subsidies (including too-big-to-fail bailouts), owes low-income families a better deal. She recounts the slow but steady demise of “banks with souls” — the community-based banks and credit unions that have been displaced by larger institutions…” –The New York Times

Should we go back to the days when the local post office offered banking services (like they still do in many European countries)? Are better regulations the answer? FAIR Money would like to include the Bay Area community in this conversation. For those with already full reading schedules, we have included a few videos below of Mehrsa Baradarian speaking about some of the topics in her book.

Please RSVP if you can make it. We hope to see you there!

 

 

http://www.democracynow.org/embed/story/2015/10/30/how_the_other_half_banks_how