Keep yer stinkin' plastic

Because, you know, the landfills were just dying for more paper: in the first quarter of 2006, Americans found 1.7 billion credit-card solicitations in their mailboxes, up from 1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2005.

It's not hard to see why, either: the response rate is falling, from 1.2 percent eight years ago to 0.2 percent today. Out of every 500 "You're pre-selected!" pitches, 499 wind up in the trash.

You can, of course, ask to be left off the list, and it might even work.

Posted at 1:24 PM to Common Cents