Sharif Street & Payday Loans
Submitted by CharlieNJ on Tue, 04/10/2007 - 9:47am.
It's unfortunate I only have a paper copy, and don't have access to the Daily News digital archives but I think you can get a good idea of what the article is about. If anyone has access to the archives, maybe they can post some important parts of it.
Philadelphia Daily News
March 23, 2005
"Pay-to-Prey: Mayor's Son Lobbying State for Payday Loans- At Over 400% Interest"
Turns out that Sharif Street was a paid lobbyist in Harrisburg for the payday lenders.
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This is old news. We bloged
This is old news. We bloged about it on the old site. I'm sure that if you googles youngphillypolitics and Sharif Street that you could find the blogs.
But relevant again as people
But relevant again as people are making their decisions on At-Large votes. I didn't take the post to be trying to uncover new information, merely to remind folks of this issue since he's a candidate.
Yeah a lot of people know
Yeah a lot of people know this. Just for some reason it is an issue for Knox but not for Sharif.
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Staff member of Longacre for 5th Council District.
Hm
I didn't know it. I guess I was surprised that Knox was getting so much flack for it because I've def heard about it regarding him, but no one has told me Street's pay-day past.
Sorry if I'm bringing up old news, but it's new news to me. (and maybe 1 other?)
It is a big deal. Is it on
It is a big deal. Is it on the same level? No, I don't think so, because Sharif was an associate at a law firm told to lobby, and did so. (That does not not not excuse it. It is a big deal, and certainly makes me question him, as well.) But Knox actually made the decisions at Crusader, and brought them into the business.
Dan, I agree with you to
Dan, I agree with you to some extent on this one. We must realize that lawyers are called to do lots of things. This is a strong distinction, one that I wish other candidates would understand.
With all due respect, Gaetano and Dan
Lawyers do things to earn a living, and so do businessmen. They both involve moral judgments and possible financial benefit or sacrifice. They both can say no.
Lawyers represent and
Lawyers represent and advocate. It is what we do. It has been the same since the orgins of the common law. I would venture to say that most lawyers do not endorse the personal lives of their clients, but still represent them. There is nothing wrong with that--unless you have a problem with the advocacy system.
Also, in my little time of practice, I have only been able to say "no" to one piece of work. I try not to do it frequently, I have to feed myself, pay my student loans and, one day, look to have a family. So, to the extent I can say "no" to the partners who sign my paycheck, I have to make damn sure it is worth it.
I enjoy being employed. I don't have the convinenance of having the government as a client. Not all lawyers do.
No, I agree. But, again, I
No, I agree. But, again, I said I think it is a big deal.
What I said is I don't think it is the same equivalence as the person responsible for actually bringing his business into payday lending.
I think that is correct.
I think that is correct. But, I want to go another step--let's not crucify lawyers more than they already are. Especially lawyers and soon-to-be lawyers shouldn't do it. The rest of the world is too ready, mostly based on lack of information, to do so.
It is a balance. He was
It is a balance. He was hired to be a lobbyist, likely more than anything because of his last name (he isn't, for example, doing what most of his classmates were doing at big firms, and toiling away doing document review in the litigation department), and then he went to lobby for an industry that was incredibly destructive.
What was the firm he was
What was the firm he was working for? It would be curious to see what type of work the firm did. If it was obvious the type of business he was getting into.
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Staff member of Longacre for 5th Council District.
Wolf Block. One of the only
Wolf Block. One of the only big firms in Philly pretty closely tied to the GOP.
Yeah, looks like they pretty
Yeah, looks like they pretty much will work for anyone. (Meaning hard to say Sharif knew what he was getting into.)
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Staff member of Longacre for 5th Council District.