The Card Game

This Frontline documentary on the credit card and banking industries is disturbing on so many levels, it's hard to know where to start.

I know I'm not my credit company's best customer, and that's fine with me. Not only do I never carry a balance, I make several payments a month, because I want to hold their credit for as little time as possible to limit whatever penalties from fees and interest might accrue in case something happens and I don't make my payment.

But for people who have balances, either from circumstance or conspicuous consumption, the system is really stacked against them. The penalties are harshest for those least able to pay, which makes sense in terms of bank profits, but not in terms of anything else.

What they don't want is customers like me who pay in full or people who don't pay at all. So people get wrapped up in a debt straightjacket and can't get out, which is exactly what banks want. Those are their best customers, namely people who can't pay off their balances but continue to pay.

Meanwhile, even though the economy is crashing around us, banks couldn't care less as long as profits continue to rise. The regulators won't or can't do anything to change the system because, as Dick Durbin said earlier this year, the banks own Congress.

Until our system of legalized bribery that is the campaign finance mess gets fixed, we will never solve this problem. When elected officials worry more about where their next fundraising dollar is coming from rather than doing the right thing for the American people, we're all screwed.

You can watch the entire program online at the PBS website.