What could be easier than renting-to-own? Get that big screen TV, leather couch or new washer/dryer combo immediately, with no credit check and affordable monthly payments, and before you know it you'll have it paid off in full. Or maybe not. These businesses collect $8 billion per year and are a key part of the "poverty industry," a sector of the economy that preys on low-income people and adds obstacles to the path to financial independence that wealthier people don't face.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Legislation signed into law by New York Governor David Paterson last week cracks down on rent-to-own businesses in that state, and sets a great example for the rest of the nation. Tell your state leaders to regulate runaway rent-to-own businesses.

Under the new law, companies like industry leader Rent-A-Center, which has more than 3,000 stores spread across 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, can not charge low-income New Yorkers any more than 2.25 times the value of the item they're renting. Companies also have a mandate to make contracts clearer, so customers actually understand that they're paying extra (like several thousand dollars extra) for the relative convenience of getting the item right away.

When the poverty industry contributes to the creation of an economic underclass, we all pay.

Photo credit: Steve Snodgrass