Funding the Enemy

For some time I have worked for a local Austin screen printing company that has specialized in University of Texas licensed apparel. Last year, VF Corporation, proposed an offer to the University of Texas to get exclusive rights for selling adult t-shirts. VF secured this “monopoly” after writing a large check for advance royalties to the school. The ripple effect has now begun and many Austin companies and families are suffering from this decision. Several local companies went out of business when this deal was signed. Many Austin citizens lost their jobs. VF, like most large corporations, brings their product in from out of the country. As a re-cap, the University of Texas gave exclusive rights to a large corporation that essentially put many local citizens out of work, while giving more business to people out of the country. Why..... Money.

The disturbing part of this story is that the State of Texas funds the University of Texas. It seems to me that there is something wrong with our local government if they will fund a school that puts its citizens out of business. Unemployment rates are increasing. If our government would spend more time managing the funds that they allocate we might not be in such a recession. If our state would not support entities that take jobs away from Americans, forcing many to file for unemployment there would not be such a large drain on our financial resources. The financial problems we are facing are not just because we are in a recession, but because we are not considering the consequences of our actions. The University of Texas signed the contract with VF for the monetary instant gratification. I doubt they even thought of the long term effects this would have on the citizens living in their own community. Shame on The University of Texas and shame on the government for allowing this to happen.

The Big Bad Payday Loan

On the local blog “Burnt Orange Report” an article was posted about the much needed reforms to the payday laws in Texas. Though the article was recently posted on October 13, 2011, cause for concern regarding the current payday laws has been headlining news columns for quite some time. The author of this blog interviewed State Representative Eddie Rodriguez regarding his opinion on the matter. Mr. Rodriguez has been an advocate for payday law reform. Mr. Rodriguez says “there’s a reason why they [payday loan establishments] are sprouting up like a lot of mushrooms after a rain, and that’s because they are so lucrative.” Essentially Mr. Rodriguez believes that these companies are taking advantage of the situation and since there are no real restrictions in place some companies make an excess of 300% in interest. Wow! That’s a lot. The author appears to be in favor of changing our current laws. He did a great job supporting his view by interviewing Mr. Rodriguez. This lends credibility to his article and leads the reader to agree with the viewpoints stated. The author also cites several facts regarding the problems associated with our current laws. He notes that a loan of $1000 could end up costing $3500 when unpaid installments are continuously rolled over into the loan. Though the facts are quite impressive, I think the blog would have been better had the author played more on the emotional side of human nature. For instance, he could have talked about the dire economic situation our country is currently in and the cold-hearted nature of these companies for exploiting the average working person’s tough financial situation. I appreciate the facts that were presented, but this article would have been more compelling had the emotional element been added.