| Welcome
to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New
Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the
pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more
about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks! January 29, 2007
Week Two Or Weak Too? As January comes to a close, we're reminded that the Legislature has only been in session for two weeks. It just feels like longer. Stamina drain aside, things are starting to get interesting in Santa Fe and your opportunity to make a difference has come nigh.
Two of the issues we've been working on are payday loans and raising the minimum wage. The payday loan industry is predatory. There are two major problems with how payday loans are made. One, payday lenders do not take into account the person's ability to repay the loan in a timely fashion. Hence, they make loans to people who cannot repay them during the initial timeframe, so the loans are "rolled over" -- meaning the due date is pushed back.
This leads to the second problem: rollovers come with astronomical interest rates, trapping people in debt. The Center on Responsible Lending calculates that the average payday customer ends up paying $793 to borrow $325.
NM Voices is disappointed that the first bill on regulating this industry to be heard (Rep. Patty Lundstrom's HB 92) unanimously passed the House Business and Industry Committee last week. The bill does not cap interest rates and all of the many consumer advocates at the hearing opposed the bill.
What you can do:
Raising the minimum wage statewide is another issue on which we've worked hard. While not all the minimum wage legislation has been introduced, it's not too early to let your legislators know what you want them to do. A good minimum wage bill would have two key provisions. One, the wage must be indexed so that it rises when inflation rises. This is critical for keeping the buying power of the wage from eroding over time. The second provision it that any statewide legislation still allow municipalities to set higher wages if they choose. This is particularly important in cities with a high cost of living like Santa Fe.
So when you call your legislators about payday loans, please let them know how you feel about the minimum wage.
Data
for Your District
While we'd love to take sole credit for all this amazing data, we really have to thank the Annie E. Casey Foundation for providing most of it. Believe it or not, there's much more data relating to child poverty and well being, and you can lose yourself in it here: http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/census/
Regarding
Race Matters
Also, the Santa Fe chapter of the NAACP has initiated legislation designed to stop racial profiling by law enforcement officers. They've graciously invited NM Voices and the Race Matters Coalition to partner in their efforts. Click here to read about it in the Santa Fe New Mexican: http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/55291.html
Correcting
the Correction
Nobody's perfect, but signing on in support of the Race Matters Coalition Statement of Principles is a perfect way to say that the Race Matters work to eliminate disparities for New Mexico's children of color is important. If you haven't, please take a moment now to review the statement and consider signing on: http://www.nmvoices.org/racematters_endorsement.htm
And Finally
... a Forum
Mark Fenton, a transportation engineer, author and PBS television host will address key questions with a response panel. Panelists include Claude Morelli of Walk Albuquerque, City Councilor Debbie O'Malley, County Commissioner Teresa Cordova, and Gabriel Nims of 1000 Friends of New Mexico.
The forum is tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 30), from 7pm to 9pm at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, 3701 Carlisle NE (at Comanche). A $5 donation is suggested.
Sponsoring the event is 1000 Friends of NM, the city of Albuquerque, and the Social Justice Council of the First Unitarian Church.
Call
for Nominees
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