Alternative credit or legal robbery?

click to enlarge
Illustration: Michael Fisher Portland Press Herald

  In that chart above it's easy to see that a large part of the population in Maine uses "Alternative credit".  In the Bangor there are 3 rent-to-own businesses, 3 pawn shops and one check cashing business.  Because Bangor is a service center for a large region there seems to be a dis-proportionate amount of low income and homeless people; I could be wrong.
  Low income people and no credit seem to go together so the seeming abundance of those types of businesses are here also. 
  It has always seemed to me that the interest rates, and/or the sales method, of these business is too high.  The problem really is too high but legal.  We need some laws amended to change this.
  Read more:

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/06/22/alternative-credit-draws-mainers-in-at-heavy-cost/

What they really pay. - click to enlarge
Illustration: Michael Fisher Portland Press Herald