We've all gotten the envelopes in the mail. "Free credit card!  No annual fee!  Your interest rate will never, ever go up!"

Then you sign up and it turns out you missed an asterisk, that "no annual fee" is only for the first year.  And while your rate may not increase, the bank may decide to "reprice" your interest, annual fee and late charges through the roof.  Another trick is punishing you for paying off your balance in full, making people pay for not racking up credit card debt.

Introducing a measure to protect credit card users, Congressman John LaFalce (D-NY) stated that consumers "should not be tricked or trapped into escalating interest rates and unnecessary fees.  And they clearly deserve better than to be punished for paying off debt and for responsibly using their credit cards."

Almost any federal legislation would be an improvement, because currently banks are almost completely unregulated.  Some states have laws, but those are easy enough to dodge if banks move to low-regulation states like Delaware.

And in case you think you can just cut up cards you don't like, they've thought of that, too.  Card issuer Advanta assessed a $25 fee to anyone who canceled their card. 

Everyone from political action groups to car companies are pushing cards, trying to suck people in.  People who've been dead for years are told they have excellent credit and need only the stroke of a pen to get thousands of dollars.  It's gotten so out of hand that dogs, cats and toddlers are being approached to jump aboard the debt train. 

Deregulation has gone too far in the credit card industry.  It's time to put a stop to these high-tech games of Three Card Monty and to the shakedown of American consumers.  Congress must act, not just to protect the unsuspecting, but to preserve the stability of our consumer economy.