WASHINGTON -- Who's the greater villain: the guy at a bar who has one drink too many or the bartender who sold him that drink?

If you think there's enough blame to go around, you'll agree there are two wrongs and two rights on the controversy surrounding bank overdraft protection fees.

It's wrong for financial institutions to prey -- and that is what they are doing -- on the carelessness of their customers.

It's also wrong for customers to complain about overdraft fees that they can largely avoid -- by keeping track of what's in their accounts and not overspending.

Financial institutions are right when they argue they are providing a service customers clearly want or otherwise they wouldn't use it.

But government has every right to rein in an industry practice that in many cases has become predatory by design, allowing customers to overdraw their accounts.

No matter who you think is right or wrong on this issue, I must point out a troubling trend that just won't die: The financial industry continues to greatly profit from consumers' love affair with plastic.

Much of the overdraft penalties come from debit card transactions. In less than 15 years, debit card transactions in the United States have grown from 1 percent of noncash transactions to more than 50 percent, according to new research from TowerGroup.

As access to credit tightened and people pulled back from using credit cards, they increased their debit card use.

Because debit cards are linked to individuals' banking accounts, customers supposedly are forced to spend only what they have in their accounts. The financial institutions have actually convinced some people that a debit card is the same as using cash.

It's not.

And it's not because the institutions allow you to spend - either mistakenly or irresponsibly -- more than you have.

Most banks whose automated overdraft programs cover ATM and point-of-sale debit transactions only inform customers they don't have sufficient funds once a transaction had been completed, according to a 2008 study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Overdraft penalties are assessed when a financial institution covers a check, ATM withdrawal or debit card transaction. When the customer eventually makes a sufficient deposit, the bank takes the overdraft amount plus a fee.

Unmonitored, the ease of using a debit card allows people to spend first and check later. Even a transaction costing a few dollars can trigger high overdraft fees, which can be as high as $35.

The national median for overdraft fees on consumer checking accounts, debit cards and ATMs increased to $26 per incident in 2009, up from $25 in 2008, according to Moebs Services, an economic research firm based in Lake Bluff, Ill. The firm collects and analyzes pricing trends for government agencies such as the Federal Reserve and the Government Accountability Office. Continued...