Last Week Tonight with John Oliver recently had a good segment on an issue that seems to fly under the radar: predatory lending, specifically payday loans (caution: some may find the content of the video offensive…it is HBO, after all).

Bishop Stephen Blaire and the USCCB took a strong stand on this issue last year:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church equates exploiting economic hardship with theft: “Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another” (no. 2409). Payday lending seems to meet these criteria, to the extent that it preys on the financial hardship of poor and vulnerable consumers, exploits their lack of understanding, and increases economic insecurity.