Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Why Are Credit Card Rates Increasing / Credit Limits Falling?
Because people are going deeper into debt and filing for bankruptcy more often, there is more risk on behalf of the credit company.  Therefore, they limit their risk by lower limits and increasing interest. For every person that goes bankrupt, there might be 10 that pay that new higher interest rate, thereby netting a profit even though they lost out completely on the one customer. The recent legislation limited how and under what circumstance rate are adjusted and raised, but not forbidden. As for the fact that these banks took tax money under the idea (we all thought) I see two points of view. We never should have had the credit we did, so they are correcting and you (like me and millions of others) are suffering for their prior mistakes.  It is an honest attempt to correct the system for long term stability even if we suffer in the short term. We gave them tax money, they need to not screw us over.  In response to the still frozen credit markets I would suggest penalty taxes to companies that do not lend. Penalties to companies that do not modify mortgages.  The second you take government money is the last second a you are entitled to a profit of anything.  Furthermore, we the people bought you and we the people get to decide your salary. The bottom line is there is truth in both statements.  Things are totally screwed up right now because we ALL made mistakes in the past trying to get a bigger profit or own a bigger house.  There are those among us who didn't make a mistake, and those among us who made nothing but mistakes.  As a society, we have to pay the piper either way. The best thing you can do now is pay down your debts, live simply and spend your money wisely.