Bait and switch . . .

Anyone who thought the bank bailout was going to help preserve the American banking system and banks as we knew them should take a close look at the government's role in the takeover of National City Bank by PNC.

I realize this is esoteric stuff for most people, so I'll skip to the executive summary - the bailout program is going to be used to forcefully consolidate the banking system. We're going to end up with a handful of extremely large banks, some very small banks and credit unions, and nothing in the middle. And the feds are going to be the ones making the decisions, based on . . . well, not as much as you'd think, if the publicly available balance sheets and other information in the National City/PNC case are any indication.

What does this mean to you? Well, the (supposedly) safest and most favored bank in the country . . . not to mention one of the largest (at this point, with the mergers, etc., I'm no longer sure of the statistics) is J.P. Morgan/Chase . . . go back a year and compare their rates and charges to any other bank in your area, and you'll find that basically they didn't want your business unless you couldn't afford to give it to them. When this ends, the only banks left will be that big.

Necessary to save the financial system?

Maybe. But they're using your money to do it. And it's not the way the plan was sold, by anyone . . .