On a recent early morning news program about establishments such as Pay Day Loan and Check City, some pundit said "these places prey on the poor" and serve no useful purpose except to grab as much as possible for as long as possible from those truly in need who are waiting for their next paycheck, which barely gets them by as it is.

If one walks into one of these loan and check-cashing kiosks, most likely they will read a sign stating that the annual interest rate on loans is 417 percent. This should make anyone ambivalent about filling out a loan application. Yet consider the following: At a fee of $8 per week per $100 loaned, on a recent Monday I borrowed $165 to hold my wife and me over until our next paycheck on Friday.

Now, if I write a check and overdraw as little as one dime, my bank will charge me $30. Imagine writing four overdrawn checks: I will pay $120 in overdraft fees. A stark contrast to my five-day $165 loan, for which I was charged $7.54. Who's preying on whom?

Victor Wittke

Salt Lake City