What it's worth

Credit card companies have conjured an illusion so damn compelling that we fall for it even though we know it's a trick. They create for us a false sense of wealth and we use it to buy us a fat and happy life. Then, once we're good and hooked on that illusion, they pull back the veil to reveal we never had the money to afford our lifestyle and, oh yeah, the bill is more than actual cost.

We stand in slack-jawed awe. They get rich.

Now, it seems, the same Wall Street rascals who brought us subprime lending and 0% introductory interest rates are waking up the fact that the rest of the world has been running the same game on them for years - in fact, the trick they pulled on us was only possible because of the trick being played on them. But the world finally wants to collect.

Rest assured, our leaders are working over time to get those veils back into place.