Yup, you got it. We ordinary people like to complain about credit card rates, but they are nothing compared to payday loans, which can legally charge astonomical rates. So poorer people have more difficulty getting out of debt because they're in hock to these folks forever.

Some people truly don't manage their money very well, but a lot of folks make so little that one relatively minor emergency -- a car repair, a doctor's bill, a larger utility bill, etc. -- can leave them with no funds AND no way out or they'll bounce checks or lose the job they have and be out in the street. So then the loan spiral starts.