So, aside from paying interest in the 22% to 24% range, the cardholder has to fork over an additional $5.95 per month. Factor this fee into the interest rate and you have legalized usury.

Such fees are charged primarily to people with poor or only fair credit. The banks also impose a one-time “set-up” fee and an additional fee that has various names, so that a person with a $250 limit ends up with a first-month bill of about $175 before charging anything.

The credit card companies justify such fees as the part of the risk they take in extending credit to cardholders with lower-than-average credit scores. But does it really make any sense to put such a burden on people who can least afford to pay those fees?

Not to me it doesn’t.

The banks promote these cards as a way for people to improve their credit history. With so many people hungry for credit, the lure is very strong.

So what’s a person to do? Sign up and get bilked or toss the application away along with a chance to get a credit card.

There’s an opportunity here for the government to step in and limit the fees that banks can charge. The banks will, of course, protest. But, with so much profit at stake, they’re not going to stop sending out unsolicited applications. They’re having too good a time crying all the way to the bank.