When I got home yesterday afternoon, the mailbox was full of bills and junk mail. Hooray. I emptied the mailbox and went inside to go over all the mail and shred the seven different credit offers—one of which offered me up to $250,000 (!)—that were in the day’s mail.

As I went over my American Express Blue statement, my eyes flitted past the Annual Percentage Rate on the card; I hadn’t really examined the statements in detail for some time. I had to do a double take. The APR on that card is 29.99%.

Holy Bejeezus! Thirty percent? That’s not an interest rate, that’s fucking usury. I grabbed a folder of bills from this time last year and checked the AMEX statement. APR: 10.73%. My interest rate has trebled in a year’s time. It’s not like I’m getting stung because of late payments, either; they’ve been paid on time.

Every week, a ridiculous number of “pre-approved” credit offers land in my mailbox, and I know I’m not alone in battling this deluge. Overlay that with a 30% interest rate (does the Mafia even charge that much?) and the ridiculous ease of identity theft, it makes my head spin to remember that Congress passed this piece of garbage last year to ostensibly crack down on deadbeats. Let’s see now, the credit companies are practically breaking into our houses to insert cards into the wallets of anybody capable of breathing, the interest rates are ridiculous, their profits are breaking records, but they need protection?

Thirty freakin’ percent. I still can’t believe it. I cut up my AMEX card last night. Screw those guys.