Keeping track of financial crisis as well as what the Fed and our financial institutions are doing (as well as not doing) have become an obsession of mine. My MBA mind is percolating with interest and recollection of past studies, and my blood is boiling by the audacity of our government and banking industry’s leaders.

Just today, we learned in a NYT article by Edmund L. Andrews that the Fed once again cut it’s interest rate in the hopes of stimulating the economy and avoiding a deeper recession. Yet the article’s author noted that the “…Fed’s biggest weakness at the moment is that the economy’s problems have less to do with interest rates than the reluctance of banks and financial institutions to lend money. Even though the Fed has lent almost $600 billion to financial institutions in the last month alone, banks are still reluctant to lend to businesses or consumers.”

What are they doing with all that money? They sure as hell do not plan on lending any to consumers for new mortgages or for refinancing current mortgages at lower mortgage rates or for small business opportunities. A few days ago, the NYT also ran an article by Joe Nocera who learned and reported that “…the dirty little secret of the banking industry is that it has no intention of using the money to make new loans.” The same article highlights that the Fed is even giving tax incentives for banking institutions to use the government subsidies and cash injections to encourage bank mergers and acquisitions.

Are you kidding me? Major promises were made in front of Congress and to the American people. We are being sold a bailout of billions (nearly a trillion at this point) that basically helps financial institutions and their executives better conquer the world and position themselves to make even more fortunes in the future.

No help is coming for the rest of us, and more pain is on its way. As Eric Dash notes in a NYT article, the next crisis for consumers will be found in the credit card industry. An industry that strongly encouraged and created massive personal debt now begins to “…aggressively shut down inactive accounts…” and reduce “…customer credit lines by 4.5 percent in the second quarter from the previous period, according to regulatory filings….” Those once friendly lenders “…are shunning consumers already in debt and cutting credit limits for existing cardholders, especially those who live in areas ravaged by the housing crisis or who work in troubled industries.”

What does this mean? Well, for one thing borrowing is not an option if you are in financial trouble. The other thing is that once credit card companies begin shutting down inactive accounts and reducing credit lines, everyone’s credit rating will be lowered. Why? One strong measure (30% of your rating to be exact) of a credit score is based on outstanding debt in relation to available credit. As your available credit is reduced, this ratio begins looking much less attractive that your previous ratio and—presto!—your credit score now stinks without your doing anything to deserve it.

Are we having fun yet? Feels like time for some a major revolt on our industry and government.