Study questions if bed rest prevents prematurity

WASHINGTON (AP) ? New research is raising fresh concern that an age-old treatment for troubled pregnancies ? bed rest ? doesn't seem to prevent premature birth, and might even worsen that risk.

Doctors have known for years that there's no good evidence that bed rest offers any benefit for certain pregnancy complications, and it can cause side effects in the mother, not to mention emotional and financial strain. Yet estimates suggest nearly 1 in 5 moms-to-be is told to cut her activity ? ranging from quitting work to actually staying in bed all day ? at some point during pregnancy.

Now, spurred by the latest study, some specialists are issuing a call for strict studies to finally settle the controversy ? and until then, for doctors not to assume that a prescription to take it easy can't hurt.

"Bed rest is misperceived as an inexpensive, innocuous, logical recommendation," Dr. Joseph Biggio Jr. of the University of Alabama at Birmingham wrote in the latest issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, a journal read by thousands of OB-GYNs.

In a separate review of past studies that failed to support bed rest, a trio of obstetricians and ethicists at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, went a step farther: They said it's not ethical to keep prescribing bed rest unless the women are enrolled in a research study, like they are for other unproven treatments.

So why is rest prescribed so often? There aren't a lot of good treatments to prevent prematurity and other problems.

"Patients want you to do something, and physicians want to do something," explained Dr. Catherine Spong, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the National Institutes of Health who co-authored the latest research.

Spong and colleagues took a closer look at a study of treatments for women at risk of premature birth because of an increasingly diagnosed complication called a short cervix. Bed rest is a broad term that doesn't just mean staying in bed all the time ? and during that treatment study, doctors were free to decide if the participants also should restrict their activities, essentially offering a real-world test of the effects. The prescriptions ranged from no sexual activity, to partial or complete work restrictions, to complete restriction of non-work activity as well.

Nearly 40 percent of the 646 pregnant women enrolled in the study were prescribed some type of activity restriction in the second or third trimester. Most were told to restrict all three types of activity ? sexual, work and non-work ? what's usually considered bed rest.

The surprise: Some 37 percent of women who took the precautions had a premature baby, compared with just 17 percent of the women who didn't scale back, the researchers report in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

"The data suggests that bed rest does not prevent preterm birth in this high-risk population, but it doesn't definitively answer that question," cautioned Spong. She wants to see a more strict study ? the kind that randomly assigns women to rest or not ? to prove if there's a difference.

The study also raises questions about harm, although the women who rested merely may have been at higher risk for a preemie. They were older and had somewhat more serious cervical complications. But the researchers pointed to other studies that link bed rest to increased stress and anxiety, both of which are associated with prematurity and smaller babies.

Plus, bed rest is well known to increase a mother's risk of a dangerous blood clot, as well as side effects including bone and muscle loss.

Interestingly, the new study found those who rested were more likely to have private insurance, raising questions about the influence of social rather than medical factors.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says bed rest shouldn't be "routinely recommended" for prevention of preterm birth. And women face a tough decision when their doctors do bring it up.

Sandy Lutton spent the last 18 weeks of her pregnancy lying flat in bed, forbidden even to prop up with her laptop, hoping it would prevent her twins from being born too soon.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it was stressful," said the McLean, Va., woman, whose twins, now 2, were born healthy. "I had a lot of time to sit and worry."

Her first son had been born on time, but she'd lost a second baby due to a weak cervix. With the twins, her doctors stitched her cervix closed and recommended strict bed rest, while making it clear there was no proof it would make a difference. Lutton bombarded them with questions, but eventually decided she had to try. Ultrasound exams showed her cervix stayed fine until doctors removed the stitch and delivered her babies; she even cheated with a little extra movement on exam days.

Amid the uncertainty, March of Dimes medical adviser Dr. Siobhan Dolan said women shouldn't hesitate to ask their doctors about the pros and cons of restricting activity.

"Sometimes you feel less regret if you did something even though it didn't change the outcome," acknowledged Dolan, who herself has prescribed bed rest less often in recent years.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/study-questions-bed-rest-prevents-prematurity-212704604.html

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Backlash of new education standards is rooted in suspicion of ...

James Shuls of the conservative Show-Me Institute considers himself an outspoken critic of the Common Core, a set of national standards that define what English and math skills public school children should learn at each grade level.

But even Shuls was surprised at how quickly a public meeting on the subject got out of hand this month, when parents and grandparents began shouting at Missouri education department official inside a Lindbergh School District meeting room.

They accused the official of lying. Of wanting to collect private information about their children. Of trying to control students? thoughts.

?Some of it is misinformation,? Shuls said later. ?Some of it is real legitimate concerns parents have.?

The growing backlash to the Common Core, to be fully in effect in Missouri and Illinois in the 2014-15 school year, has less to do with the skills and knowledge the standards promote than the motivations many parents fear are behind them.

They were developed in 2009 after the National Governors Association began pushing for a common and more challenging set of English and math standards for the nation?s schools. The effort involved hundreds of educators. It received bipartisan support from the nation?s governors. Backers include Republican Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, and Democratic Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon.

Once educators developed the standards, the Obama administration endorsed them. The U.S. Department of Education made adoption of the Common Core one of two options for states to receive a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law.

Some now point to that moment as the one that turned the debate over the Common Core away from what skills children should be learning. Now, much of the opposition is fueled by contempt for any federal role in public education and, more specifically, for the policies of the Obama administration.

?That has certainly heightened it,? said Anne Gassel, who has been writing critically about Common Core on the blog, Missouri Education Watchdog.

?A lot of where this started is the mistrust with this administration,? said Jane Cunningham, a Republican from Chesterfield who served in the Missouri Legislature and is neutral on Common Core. ?If he had not embraced it, it would not be the problem it is.?

BACKLASH

The Common Core standards are designed to better prepare children for college and careers, promoters say, and to reduce the likelihood students will waste time and money on post-secondary remedial courses.

More specifically, the standards require students to be exposed to more nonfiction at all grade levels than in the past, and to have a deeper understanding of math. Some math skills, for example, would be taught one year earlier.

The Common Core is not a federal program, state officials say.

On repeated occasions, Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro has said local control of schools will remain once the standards go into effect. Teachers, Nicastro says, will still determine how best to help their students meet the expectations. School districts, she says, will continue to choose curriculum.

But parents who hold the belief the federal government will control textbook selection and lesson plans have asked if they could opt out of Common Core, which the Missouri and Illinois state boards approved in 2010. They?re signing petitions requesting that the state board repeal the standards. Their fears and concerns are exacerbated by partisan newsletters and websites that link the Common Core to socialism.

Kris Beaton, who has children in Rockwood schools, said she learned about Common Core from a friend. Then she heard about it on the radio. She said her main concern is that the standards will eliminate local control of schools. ?It?s overwhelming,? she said.

Like many parents who oppose the Common Core, Beaton?s concerns have grown as she has attended meetings and heard and read things that scare her, including blogs that link to a single page in a 126-page U.S. Department of Education draft report titled ?Promoting Grit, Tenacity and Perseverance: Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century.?

The passage describes four devices, including a pressure-sensitive computer mouse and a facial expression camera that can monitor students? engagement during online tutoring.

The reference in the report is from an academic paper unrelated to Common Core. It does not reflect or recommend department policy, said Daren Briscoe, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education. The draft goes on to state the devices are ?intrusive or impractical for use in school settings.?

But conservative bloggers have linked the two, and some parents worry that the Common Core means facial scanning devices are coming to classrooms.

?My biggest concern is, are you going to hook our kids to these things?? said Lisa Pannett, a parent with children in the Mehlville School District. ?Because I?m not on board with that.?

Such fears seem to have caught educators across the state off guard, leaving them almost slack-jawed when pressed about them at board meetings and forums.

At the meeting at Lindbergh, Pannett shouted questions from the back of the room about whether her children are about to become science experiments.

?Data mining!? one man yelled at Maureen Clancy-May, area supervisor at the Missouri education department, leading the meeting. ?Why don?t you talk about that??

?No more data will be collected on students than there is now,? Clancy-May said.

Since 1989, the state has collected student data for school accreditation and accountability purposes. The data includes student gender, ethnicity, attendance, special education placement and homeless status. The data is protected by federal privacy laws. The data categories can be found on the department?s website.

ROLLING OUT

For educators, revisiting standards in public education is nothing new in Missouri ? the state education department has done it several times since 1993 when the Outstanding Schools Act directed the State Board of Education to set academic standards for schools. But resistance typically comes from those questioning what grade level is best to teach kids certain skills ? not from people accusing the state of thought monitoring and control.

?In the past, you had rooms full of educators with concerns,? said Jim Simpson, superintendent of Lindbergh schools. ?Now it?s rooms full of people with strong political views.?

The school district has been preparing teachers for the Common Core rollout for two years, he said. And none of it involves monitoring devices or curriculum from the feds, he said.

?The idea that we?d be putting electrodes on kids? That is so sci-fi,? Simpson said.

The Francis Howell School District has already begun implementing the Common Core in kindergarten through the second grade, without any criticism from parents, said Mary Hendricks-Harris, Francis Howell?s chief academic officer.

When the standards kick in for all grade levels in 2014, ?We will be upping the expectation of the reading level anywhere from a year to a year and a half,? she said.

The standards require that student delve deeper, but cover fewer, math objectives. In English, they will spend more time writing persuasively and critically than in the past.

?It?s about a 30 percent departure from what we?re already doing,? said Art McCoy, superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

McCoy isn?t totally on board with the standards ? he expects that student creativity, for one, will suffer with the shift to more ?evidence-based? writing.

Shuls of the Show-Me Institute would prefer parents and schools to set their own standards, rather than states.

?Ultimately, there?s absolutely no evidence that content standards improve education,? he said.

Earlier this year, Missouri Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, proposed a bill to repeal the Common Core.

His bill no longer includes the repeal and was approved by the Senate this week. Instead, it would require the state education department to hold hearings in each congressional district before full implementation of Common Core.

Prior to the meetings, the bill also would require the department to present a fiscal analysis of implementation, as well as any additional data that would be collected on students.

In 2015, the state education department plans to administer new standardized tests to see whether students are meeting expectations set by the Common Core. To do this, however, it will need money from the Legislature.

Article source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/backlash-of-new-education-standards-is-rooted-in-suspicion-of/article_3a9dd2ee-36d8-5fb3-9363-11e35076d534.html

By admin in Blog on May 11, 2013

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Source: http://www.americaninternational.edu/backlash-of-new-education-standards-is-rooted-in-suspicion-of-federal-government/

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iPhone 5 sees faster data speeds on T-Mobile after hacked carrier update

Are you using an iPhone 5 on T-Mobile? Are you in an area with re-farmed 1900MHz HSPA+ spectrum? Well rejoice! Some enterprising folks over at TmoNews have hacked Apple's carrier update for T-Mobile to boost data speeds on the 1900MHz (PCS) HSPA+ band. Better yet, this tweak applies to both T-Mobile's iPhone 5 and the AT&T / unlocked versions -- no jailbreak required. White the official carrier update enabled LTE for the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile, it also decreased data speeds on re-farmed PCS HSPA+ spectrum for many users. The hacked file makes a number of adjustments: it enables Release 9 for dual-carrier HSPA+ and sets the band preference to "auto" from AWS. Follow the source link below for more details and step-by-step instructions.

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G7 says Japan playing by currency rules

AYLESBURY, England (AP) ? Finance leaders from the Group of Seven leading industrial economies say Japan's stimulus policies are directed at boosting its economy out of a two-decade period of stagnation, not an attempt to drive down its currency to make Japan's exports more competitive.

At the conclusion of a two-day meeting of leading financial representatives from the G-7 countries ? the U.S., Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and the U.K. ? host British Treasury chief George Osborne said there was a formal acknowledgement that each member needed to secure their own countries' growth by balancing austerity measures with growth-enhancing policies. The officials also agreed on the importance of finding measures to deal with failing banks and working collectively to stop companies and individuals from dodging their tax bills.

The global recovery from recession over the past few years has been patchy. While the U.S. economy, the world's largest, appears to be gaining traction, many European countries are in recession as they try to get a grip on their public finances through deep spending cuts and tax increases.

"The will is still there to reduce the deficits but there is certainly a change of tone," said Pierre Moscovici, France's finance minister at the conclusion of the two-day summit at a country house around 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of London.

Japan, the world's number 3 economy has been in focus in recent months. The new government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised aggressive steps to restart the country's postwar boom, which effectively ground to a halt in the early 1990s. As part of that effort, the Bank of Japan plans to double the amount of cash circulating in the Japanese economy and held as bank reserves.

One of the offshoots of the policies has been a dramatic fall in the value of the yen. On Thursday, the dollar rose above 100 yen for the first time in over four years. The yen has weakened by more than 20 percent against the dollar since October, when it was trading at around 78 yen.

As well as potentially boosting economic growth by making its exports more competitive, the flipside of a lower yen is that it can also stoke inflation by increasing the price of imports. For a country that's seen prices fall for much of the past 15 years, that's important.

The rapid slide in the value of the yen has sparked fears of a "currency war" ? where countries use their exchange rates as an economic weapon. If other countries respond to the falling yen by debasing their currencies, Japan will be back at square one and the world economy could suffer. Sharp fluctuations in the value of currencies can hurt business confidence and investment.

So far, the argument presented by Japanese officials that it has been targeting monetary stimulus and not its exchange rate has been accepted by Japan's G-7 partners.

Osborne, who hosted the two days of informal discussions, said the G-7 countries agreed to make sure that "policies are oriented towards domestic objectives."

In a rare development, the G-7 didn't actually issue a communique at the conclusion of its deliberations. However, Osborne said the previous communique "was a successful statement and one that has been held to" ? a clear reference to Japan.

In February, when markets were particularly roiled by developments in Japan, the G-7 said their respective fiscal and monetary policies were oriented toward meeting domestic requirements and that exchange rates were not a target of policy.

A senior U.S. Treasury official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was a good discussion about what's going on in Japan and that Japanese officials went into some detail about how the new policy was helping to boost domestic demand.

The official reaffirmed the importance that Japan continues to meet previous commitments, a point made a day earlier by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew who said he was monitoring developments.

Analysts said it's difficult for the G-7 to make any concerns over Japan public because other countries, such as the U.S. and Britain, have been accused of debasing their respective currencies over the past few years through their monetary stimulus programs.

"It's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black," said Simon Derrick, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon.

All participants at the meeting said boosting economic growth was a priority now that financial markets appear to have calmed down, especially with regard to the debt crisis that has gripped the 17-country Eurozone.

Bad banking practices around many parts of the world were behind the financial explosion in 2008, which sent the world economy skidding to its deepest recession since World War II. Britain's Osborne said it was important to swiftly complete work to make sure that no bank is too big to fail.

"We must put regimes in place ... to deal with failing banks and to protect taxpayers and to do so in a globally consistent manner," he said.

Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, said the bank was working out what it can do to make sure banks lend more. Though banks have managed to reduce their debt and bolster their capital reserves and have benefited from liquidity offers from the ECB, lending remains stuck at relatively low levels ? particularly to smaller and medium sized enterprises.

"There wasn't any call to do more really," Draghi said, a day after Britain's Osborne indicated there would be discussions on the role of the world's central banks in shoring up global growth.

Osborne also said it was important to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, and said some of the U.K.'s offshore dependencies are working to make sure they follow the spirit of new international standards.

"Today, we all agree on the importance of collective action to tackle tax avoidance and evasion," he said. "We are absolutely determined to make progress this year .... It is vital that both developed and developing countries collect the tax that is due to them."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/g7-says-japan-playing-currency-rules-154238945.html

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Railroads hire many veterans returning from war

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? Mark Major once led a team of soldiers in combat in Iraq. Now he leads a team of railroad employees. The difference, he says, is obvious: "I'm not getting shot at anymore."

But it's the similarities between serving in the military and working for the railroad that draw Major and many other former military members to this type of work.

"For a veteran ? a person who thrives off excitement, a mission and a chain of command ? you tend to seek out companies like that," said Major, who has worked for Union Pacific for about two years.

As thousands of American soldiers return to the civilian workforce after service in Iraq or Afghanistan, many are finding jobs on the nation's rail lines. More than 25 percent of all U.S. railroad workers have served in the military.

Veterans have a long history of railroad work. Civil War veterans, for example, helped complete the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. But railroad opportunities are especially welcome now because the unemployment rate for recent veterans remains higher than for the rest of the nation.

Major helps manage intermodal freight trains for the railroad in Oakland, Calif. He sought out a railroad job when he was getting ready to leave the military because of the challenges and independence it offered and because he had known other soldiers who went to work for a railroad and liked it.

"I'm infantry," Major said. "The 40-hour workweek, sitting in a cubicle doesn't really appeal."

The Labor Department says the unemployment rate for veterans who have served since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks improved last year but still registered 9.9 percent, compared with the 7.9 percent rate for nonveterans. The jobless rate for veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 was even worse ? 20.4 percent in 2012.

The stubbornly high unemployment among veterans inspired the White House to launch a campaign called Joining Forces to encourage businesses to hire veterans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce led a similar effort called Hiring Our Heroes.

Partly as a result of those efforts, businesses have hired more than 125,000 veterans or military spouses and pledged to hire or train another 250,000 more by the end of 2014. But there are up to 800,000 unemployed veterans, and thousands more are constantly leaving the military as combat operations wind down in Afghanistan. The last U.S. troops left Iraq at the end of 2011.

Part of the challenge for veterans is that they have trouble describing their military experience in language that civilians can understand, said Kim Morton, spokeswoman for the Hiring Our Heroes program.

And veterans don't always choose to live in cities where they have the best chance of landing a job. Instead, many move back to their hometowns or to the city where a favorite base was located.

Railroad officials say veterans are well-suited to the work they do because of their training and the fact that they're used to working a 24/7 job.

"Military folks adapt well to the railroad environment," said Roy Schroer, Union Pacific's vice president of human resources.

The railroad is like having a factory with no roof, Schroer said, so prospective employees who are trained to accomplish difficult tasks under fire are attractive.

Certain railroad jobs are almost perfect fits for certain military jobs, said John Wesley III, BNSF's military hiring manager. For instance, someone who was an air traffic controller can become a train dispatcher rather easily. And mechanics who maintained diesel equipment in the military can use those skills to take care of locomotives.

Plus, skilled trades like plumbers and electricians are all needed in the railroads.

And even veterans who don't have special skills are still a good fit because railroads are willing to train them to be conductors or to do other jobs.

"For the most part, if the military has it, so does the railroad," said Wesley, who served in the Army himself for 22 years before joining BNSF in 2007.

Railroads pursue veterans by attending dozens of job fairs every year, employing recruiters who are veterans and offering classes for veterans to help them apply for civilian jobs.

When she was leaving the Navy in 1998, Sandy Suver was contacted by a recruiter because the railroad industry had figured out that air traffic controllers tend to make good train dispatchers.

Working at the railroad, she said, has always helped her feel like part of a team, and her contributions mattered ? much like when she was in the military.

"It's a proud company with a proud heritage ? very similar to the military," Suver said. "The similarities are uncanny sometimes."

Suver and her brother both interviewed with UP around the same time and got job offers. Later her husband also went to work for the railroad after his active-duty military career ended. But he joined the Army reserves just before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to complete his 20 years of military service and was promptly deployed.

The railroad took such good care of Suver and her family during that deployment that she says it's unlikely she'll ever leave UP. The railroad maintained her husband's life and health insurance and covered the difference between National Guard pay and his railroad salary so he wouldn't take a pay cut while deployed.

"UP took care of me and my family while my husband was gone," Suver said. "It just made a huge impression on me."

That's part of why Suver has become an unofficial railroad recruiter herself by talking about 15 other former Navy co-workers into joining Union Pacific.

Suver said the military is structured for safety and so is the railroad, which helped with her transition to a civilian job.

"That structure is very comfortable for someone who grew up in the military," she said.

___

Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

___

Online:

Association of American Railroads: www.aar.org

Veterans unemployment report: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/vet.pdf

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/railroads-hire-many-veterans-returning-war-070334168.html

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'Like a drug': Payday loan users hooked on quick-cash cycle

Glenn Oakley / for NBC News

"I'm not dumb, but I did a dumb thing," Raymond Chaney says of getting involved in high-interest loans that eventually got him kicked out of his apartment. Chaney rides the bus to whittle away the time -- sometimes for hours at a time.

By Bob Sullivan, Senior Writer, NBC News

For Raymond Chaney, taking out a?payday loan was like hiring a taxi to drive across the country. He ended up broke ??and stranded.

The 66-year-old veteran from Boise?lives off of Social Security benefits, but borrowed from an Internet payday lender last November?after his car broke down and didn?t have the $400 for repairs. When the 14-day?loan came due, he couldn?t pay, so he renewed it several times.

Within months, the cash flow nightmare spun out of control. Chaney ended up taking out multiple loans from multiple sites, trying to to stave off bank overdraft fees and pay his rent.?By February, payday lenders???who had direct access to his checking account?as part of the loan terms???took every cent of his Social Security payment, and he was kicked out of his apartment. He had borrowed nearly $3,000 and owed $12,000.

?I?m not dumb, but I did a dumb thing,? said Chaney, who is now homeless, living in a rescue mission in Boise.

Twelve?million Americans?take these types of?high-interest, short-term?loans annually.?Most don?t have the cash to cover regular expenses and can?t turn to credit cards to cover?a shortfall. Instead, they turn to what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) calls "Alternative Financial Services" ? services outside typical banking systems that low-income consumers depend on, such as storefronts that offer check-cashing for people without bank accounts?and?high-interest payday loans.?

Payday loans?often work like a two-week advance on a paycheck?-- as a?quick fix, that's fine, but like that cross-country taxi, they turn absurdly expensive for the long haul. Some states ban the loans, while others have placed hard caps on interest rates lenders can charge consumers. However, anyone with an Internet connection can find online avenues to access quick cash.

The consequences can be dire.

Chaney?s story of getting trapped in a payday loan cycle is all too?typical, consumer agencies say. Only 13 percent of payday borrowers take out one or two loans per year. More than one-third of borrowers do what Chaney did, and take out between 11 and 19 loans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says???a hole that?s hard to dig out of. ?

Glenn Oakley / for NBC News

With snacks purchased from a convenience store, Raymond Chaney walks to the Boise public library where he will spend the rest of the afternoon on the Internet.

Glenn Oakley / for NBC News

Raymond Chaney gets a soft drink outside the River of Life Mission in Boise, Idaho.

?These products may become harmful for consumers when they are used to make up for chronic cash flow shortages,? the CFPB said last week in its first-ever report on payday loans, which began with the now familiar taxi analogy. The agency is now charged with cleaning up the largely unregulated alternative lending industry, which has proliferated beyond shops to online operators able to skirt state caps on interest rates.??

'People get hooked ... like a drug'
While the CFPB has threatened to impose new rules, two other federal regulators recently told the nation?s banks they must change the way they offer so-called ?deposit advance loans????products traditional banks invented to compete with payday lenders. Banks should begin assessing consumers? ability to repay the loans, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC said recently, and should stop issuing loans to consumers who haven?t repaid earlier loans.

Payday loan costs appear deceptively simple???users typically pay $15 to obtain a two-week loan for every $100 borrowed. That might sound like 15 percent???cheaper than a high-interest credit card???but on an annual basis, the rate is actually 391 percent. And the loan is due in full after 14 days. Borrowers typically don?t change their financial situation in that two-week period, so they must renew the loan multiple times.

The CFPB found that an average payday lender pays $458 in fees to borrow $350 for about five months. A recent examination of the title loan industry by the agency was even more bleak: an average title borrower pays $2,140 to borrow $950 for 10 months.

"People get hooked on this stuff, like a drug,? says Jennifer Tescher, CEO of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, which advocates for access to financial services.

The alternative lending industry's lobbying group, the Financial Service Centers of America, says its members serve populations that have been abandoned by traditional banks, such as minority neighborhoods. And they give consumers alternatives to bouncing checks or paying late fees on important bills

"Financial independence and freedom of choice go hand in hand. It?s why our industry got started, and it?s why we?re in business today," Joseph M. Doyle, the group?s chairman, said in a message on the interest group's website. He also argues that short-term loans can be a cost-effective way to plug an emergency cash-flow gap.

Most payday borrowers are poor. The largest chunk of borrowers came from those making between $10,000 and $20,000 per year, the CFPB says. And most are repeat users: About two-thirds had more than seven transactions over 12 months. In Oklahoma, payday users were more likely to take about 17 payday loans during a 12-month span than only one.

A Pew survey found last year that seven out of 10 payday borrowers use the money to pay?-- not for emergencies???but for everyday living expenses, like rent, said Pew researcher Nick Bourke.

?The sweet spot (for lenders) is somebody who is struggling to pay their regular living expenses, but somebody who can afford to pay the fee every two weeks,? he said. ?That?s where they make their money.?

Not a bank to be seen
Sometimes people turn to retail financial storefronts for a very practical reason: there is no bank nearby. It's hard to quantify the problem of "bank deserts," but the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has tried. It calculates that from 2007 to 2010, bank and credit union branches decreased by 530 nationwide in low or moderate income neighborhoods, while increased by nearly 1,000 in middle and upper class neighborhoods.

?When bank branches close in neighborhoods, fringe institutions such as abusive payday lenders or check cashers increase in number and charge exorbitant interest rates for services that were provided more cheaply by bank branches,? the organization said in its 2012 report. ?In contrast to the wealth creation promoted by bank branches, fringe lenders represent wealth ex?traction from modest income communities.?

But even consumer advocates acknowledge there's a place for short-term loans like payday loans. The problem isn?t the term, it?s the interest rates, says Tesch.

?What makes it more difficult is people are philosophically divided on this issue,? said Tesch, alluding to the costs of the loans. ?Trying to find middle ground???it?s hard.?

Chaney is working with the Idaho Consumer Finance Bureau?to get back on his feet. Once he straightens out his debt problems, he?s hoping to find a new apartment.

In the meantime, he has advice for anyone considering a payday loan: ?I had a friend who had back surgery, and it was so painful, he said, ?If the choice is between back surgery and dying, consider dying.?

?Well, I give people the same advice about payday loans,? Chaney said. ?If the alternative to a payday loan is dying, think long and hard about dying.?

Related:?Millions of Americans too broke for bank accounts

Bob Sullivan writes?The Red Tape Chronicles blog?on NBCNews.com. Follow him on?Twitteror?Facebook.

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