We have watched closely to see how the banks that received the biggest bail-outs would respond to the assistance they received. We thought that banks such as Citibank and Bank Of America would be grateful to America and would demonstrate their gratitude in some way.

Instead, as it turns out, they are doing just the opposite, boosting fees and interest rates on the very taxpayers whose money kept them from folding.

According to the LA Times, “Millions of cardholders have recently received letters from the likes of Citibank, Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and American Express Co. notifying them that their interest rates are going up, in some cases to 30% if a single payment is missed.” This while they pay approximately 1% for money deposited in their savings accounts.

We have noted in other articles, Citibank and Bank Of America are also charging the highest mortgage rates in the nation while not only taking billions from America, but getting essentially more free cash injections from the Federal Reserve.

We believe these banks should be boycotted. As an act of protest, Americans should refuse to do business with these banks until they have the respect to honor the nation that assisted them. The Obama administration is worried about the high salaries and bonuses of the board members of these companies. Wage control is not the solution however and is a primary tenet of socialism. Washington should be more concerned with regulating these banks so they cannot extort money from more Americans.

Our Citibank account will shortly be closed. Our American Express will be destroyed. And we will phase out our long standing accounts with Bank Of America. We just cannot do business with these institutions knowing that they are continuing to use some of the predatory lending practices that contributed to their dependence on our tax dollars for survival.