President Obama has invited the credit card companies to his office for a strict reprimand about their behavior. Following a perp walk on the White House lawn, the representatives of the giant monster mega-banks that control credit card portfolios all refused to speak to the media.

No surprise there. How can you defend the indefensible?

The big banks lured people in with easy, cheap credit only to get them addicted. They acted no different than a drug dealer.

But changes are coming. The way credit works in the United States will change dramatically. During the last 20 years, you only needed a pulse to get a card. Well, that's over. Say goodbye to the billions upon billions of solicitations the banks routinely mailed out.

You already know that there's a ban on retroactive rate increases going into effect next year.

Clark anticipates other changes will include a tightening of restrictions on the junk fees that go along with credit cards, plus a reining in of teaser intro rates. In addition, the rewards for high-volume chargers are likely to scale back over time.

Will you still be able to get credit? Yes. The most noticeable change is that cards will carry higher interest rates upfront.

But we are moving into an era where using credit will hurt. The time of buying something you can't afford as a lifestyle splurge is coming to an end.