President Obama tells Birmingham audience his agenda of 'middle-class economics'
Speaking to a packed crowd of about 1,800 at Lawson State Community College, President Barack Obama today laid out his plan for more oversight of the payday lending industry and criticized Republican Congressional efforts to weaken or defund his consumer protection agency.
The president's message was well received by a cheering crowd at the southwest Birmingham campus packed largely with students, invited guests and local officials.
Obama used the visit to Birmingham to promote policies that he said would protect working families, including new proposed regulations for payday lenders.
"One of the main ways to make sure paychecks go farther is to make sure working families don't get ripped off," Obama said. "And that's why we've taken action to protect Americans from financial advisors who don't necessarily have the interests of their clients at heart. That's why we've taken steps to protect student borrowers from unaffordable debt. We want them to know before they owe."
The president's remarks came as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced proposed rules for the lenders. The regulations would require payday lenders to verify a borrower's income and ability to pay.
There would also have to be a 60-day cooling off period between loans.
Like a campaign stop:
The event resembled a campaign stop as the president fired up the crowd and delivered an oratory filled with a progressive agenda for his remaining time in office.
At times, Obama deviated from his prepared remarks to interact with the crowd.
Obama also restated his call for free two-year college, a statement met with thunderous cheers from the crowd full of college students.
"If we've got the best-trained workforce in the world, then businesses will come to Alabama," Obama said. "They'll come to Birmingham. They'll come to America. And we will succeed."
He labeled his agenda "middle class economics," and a campaign-styled billboard hung on the wall to illustrate the theme.
"And I have to say, these ideas are not about ideology," Obama said. "The reason I've proposed these ideas is because we know they work."
Obama criticized Republicans' proposed federal budget, which he said was too generous to the super rich at the expense of average Americans.
Obama pledged to fight efforts to limit funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The proposed budget from House Republicans includes ending funding for the CFPB.
Obama created the office, which selected Birmingham in which to hold its first field hearing in 2012.
The bureau tapped the Magic City as its first site because Alabama is among the states with the most payday lenders, and because of the city's moratorium.
Obama said Alabama has four times as many payday lenders as McDonald's restaurants.
On the other end of the debate, Max Wood, president of Borrow Smart Alabama, the payday industry's trade organization, said earlier this week that he was puzzled why Obama would select Alabama for his appearance.
In spite of a looming fight with national Republicans, Obama said efforts to reform payday lending is a bipartisan effort embraced in many states.
"You've got some very conservative folks here in Alabama who recognize -- they're reading their Bible. They're saying, well, that ain't right. I mean, they're saying the Bible is not wild about somebody charging $1,000 worth of interest on a $500 loan," he said. "If you're lending to somebody, knowing they can't pay you back, and you're going to put them on the hook and just squeeze them harder and harder and harder and take more and more money out of them, you're taking advantage of them."
Roundtable:
Before his speech, Obama held a roundtable meeting with civic, educational and grassroots.
The president also listened to personal stories of people getting caught in a cycle of payday lending debt. Obama said the proposed new rules could bring some relief.
"And I'm very proud of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for promulgating these rules. There's going to be a comment period. There's going to be a lengthy debate," he said during a briefing before his main appearance. "But I'm going to be on the side of making sure that these rules are as strong as possible."
This was Obama's first trip to Birmingham as president and his second visit to Alabama just this month.
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, also arrived on Air Force One.
"I'm obviously very excited to welcome the president to the Magic City," Sewell said. "I'm excited about the location that he's chosen to give his speech."
Sewell called it a coup that Obama earlier this month participated in the 50th anniversary commemoration of "Bloody Sunday" in Selma. Both Birmingham and Selma are in her district.
"By coming to Lawson State, he's sending a message that he and his administration are talking about everyday Americans," Sewell said.
Sewell said the president is underscoring some of the agenda items listed in his State of the Union address, which include making college more affordable and providing free tuition for the first years of higher education.
Mayor William Bell noted that Lawson State has been at the forefront of job training at its Birmingham and Bessemer campuses.
"Lawson State is an ideal place for such a conversation to take place," he said.
Republican response:
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, whose heavily Republican 6th district includes a portion of Birmingham, said he welcomes the president to Alabama, but not his policies.
Palmer called more government regulation the wrong prescription for economic recovery and job creation.
"So while I welcome President Obama to Alabama, I also encourage him to take another look at what his policies thus far have meant for the economy and to chart a different course than he has taken for his first six years in office," Palmer said. "Only sustained growth in our economy, which has been lacking under his administration, will provide lower and middle income Americans with the opportunities they need to better their situation and share fully in the promise of America."