We’ve all seen the signs–“Get Cash Until Payday,” and “E-Z Loan,” so easy they’ll do the math for you, just sign your name right there, please, and collect your money. Pay-lending joints are almost as common in the Triangle as Krispy Kreme shops, and taking them head-on at Hayti Heritage Center this month is an interesting coalition of government folks, artists and philanthropists. Funded by the National Humanities Council, Too Much Month at the End of a Paycheck offers a startling photographic essay on the borrowers, lenders, advocates and regulators of these high-cost, short-term loans. Durham photographer York Wilson’s portraits reveal faces that might be familiar, but it’s the facts that are hard to swallow: In 1999, only 1,000 pay-lending outlets made over $530 million dollars on their loans. The exhibit will be on display at Hayti until Jan. 31. Call 683-1709.
