Bank of America complained that the credit markets were so tight, soooooooo tight, that it couldn't possibly generate cash in the private sector, and that was why it needed a federal bailout.

Well now it got its federal bailout, and it continues to rip off consumers across the country with one of the worst savings account rates in the world -- 0.10% APY.

This means that for every $1,000 you save with Bank of America, you get a pre-tax return of $1 per year.

Emigrant Direct's FDIC-insured savings account pays 1.55%, and the national average on a money market account is 1.29% according to BankRate.com
Looking for answers, I did what any responsible journalist would do: I logged on to Bank of America's online customer support service and asked: Why are the interest rates on savings accounts so low? The response suggests that Ms. South Carolina has changed her name to Terry and is working for Bank of America. Here's the response to my question, written as I received it (I wish I were enough of a comedic genius to make this up):


They will very be adjusted because some U.S. Americans don't have Bank of America savings accounts, like such as, people who have brains.

But all this leads me to an important question: Instead of just writing Bank of America a check, why didn't the Treasury Department tell the company to raise the rates on its savings accounts and CDs to attract private capital?

There's something very, very, very wrong about a company getting bailout money while it pays interest rates that would be funny if they weren't so sad.