With the threat of stopping their charitable contributions, Rent-a-Center strong-armed an Ohio food-bank into dropping out of an anti-payday-loan advocacy group. The interest rates Rent-a-Center charges can come to as much as 782% APR. [WSJ]
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Thank you for confirming something about RAC that I’ve always been curios about.
Rent-A-Center’s stock has been doing amazingly well…
[finance.google.com]
Well, this hardly comes as a surprise. In other news, Smith & Wesson doesn’t donate to Handgun Control USA.
@Truvill: What’s that? That you’re a moron to have anything to do with them?
This is written to sound a lot more evil than it actually is. Why would ANYONE donate money to an entity that would then turn around and spend that money to lobby to have them crippled or eliminated? Whether RAC is right or wrong in most of their practices, that doesn’t obligate them to be stupid as karmic retribution.
What I find surprising is that the scumsucking, semi-evolved primates that run RAC donate money to anyone.
When I found out what they charge, I swore I would never do business with them. I have seen them “doing business” to others.
On the one hand, I agree that RAC should not be chastised for not wanting to donate to an organization that is working against their business interests. On the other hand, a charitable donation (especially one made by a business) should be something that is done because the business wants to improve the community. By using it as the carrot in a “do as I say or I take this away from you” scenario really cheapens it. Obviously RAC is not interested in improving the community or they wouldn’t withhold the charitable donation.
@starrion: they donate money because it’s a tax write off and good p.r., not out of any goodness of their collective hearts.
@firesign: Some companies do. My dad, always the self-employer, constantly donated money because wanted to. He often did it anonymously (meaning that he asked his name not to be mentioned).
I agree though that RAC seems like they don’t really care about the community if indeed they told the non-profit to stop giving money to the lobbist (sp?).
I can’t blame the non-profit. They want to help people. Unfortunately, money has to be involved. It may be one of those situations where you don’t tell the right hand what the left hand is doing.
The organization may no longer be “officially” part of the lobby, but I bet they all are personally.