{"product_id":"quick-cash-robert-mayer-9780875804309","title":"Quick Cash","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLoan sharks may conjure up an image of tough guys in fedoras looking to make a profit off of desperate people in dire financial straits; but in reality, lenders who advance small sums of cash at high interest rates until payday existed long before organized crime entered the trade.\u003c\/b\u003e Today the businesses that fill this niche in the credit market prefer the name \"payday lenders\" rather than loan sharks, but most large cities are still a hotbed of usurious lending, and the landscapes are dotted with their inviting and brightly colored storefronts. Despite their more respectable name, these predatory lenders have endured through regulation, prohibition, and the rise and fall of the mob since the late 1800s. In this intriguing and accessible book, Mayer aptly assesses the consequences of high-interest lending--both for the people who borrow at such steep prices and for society as a whole. He argues that although some consumers gain from borrowing at high rates, payday lending in its modern form consistently traps many of the wage earners who pawn their postdated checks, leaving them worse off than they were before. Because payday lending regulations vary widely throughout the country, Mayer chose to focus his story on Chicago, a city that serves as a fine representative of the legacy of loan sharking. \u003ci\u003eQuick Cash\u003c\/i\u003e will engage policy analysts, economists, and regional historians, as wells as general readers interested in the fascinating story behind these unscrupulous lending operations that feed off America's current tough economic times.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Mayer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0875804306\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780875804309\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Northern Illinois University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/15\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 301\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.30w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Midwest Book Award (MIPA) - Winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2010 pg. 87","brand":"Robert Mayer","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":50593249951999,"sku":"9780875804309","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/quick-cash-robert-mayer-9780875804309","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}