The national average for credit card interest rates is now the highest it has been in at least the last 38 years as the Federal Reserve keeps monetary policy tight to drive down inflation.

This average has ticked up to 20.72%, according to data from Bankrate. That is the highest it has ever been in Bankrate’s database, which goes all the way back to September 1985. Higher interest rates on credit cards make taking on and paying back debt more challenging for consumers.

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To put it in context, the average interest rate for credit cards in late February 2020, just ahead of the pandemic tearing through the economy, was 17.36%, according to Bankrate’s dataset.

The current high comes more than a year after the Fed began its historic tightening cycle, which was launched in order to combat the highest inflation facing the country in decades. The central bank has increased its interest rate target from 5.25% to 5.50% from near-zero levels in just a matter of about 20 months, conducting rate hikes that were, at times, double or even triple the size of its normal revisions.

When the Fed raises its short-term rate target, it causes rates on things such as mortgages and credit cards to lurch upward. Even the perception of the key overnight rate remaining higher for longer can cause interest rates on credit cards and mortgages to rise.

“Credit card interest rates are quite revealing, as they speak to changes in the economic environment, allow for historical comparison, and enable consumers to determine if they are getting a good deal on their credit card,” said writers for WalletHub, which also sees the national average for credit card interest rates to be the highest in its dataset going back to 1991.

The reason higher rates are supposed to tamp down inflation is because when rates are higher, they can dampen demand by making things more expensive and slowing consumer spending. The trade-off, though, is that if rates are too high for too long, the economy could fall into a painful recession featuring job losses.

So far, the labor market has remained buoyant despite interest rates being so high.

The economy added another 336,000 jobs in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, a number that was well above the expectations of forecasters. A report on job openings also underscored the resiliency of the job market. The number of openings rose to 9.61 million in August, showing about 1.5 job openings for every unemployed worker.

While on its face, those are two positive reports for the economy and particularly U.S. workers, the downside is that it raises the prospect that the central bank will aim to keep interest rates higher for longer — meaning more pain for people who are taking on credit card debt or trying to buy a house.

There have been some efforts at the national level to impose controls over how high interest rates on credit cards can be, efforts that are being met with strong resistance by banks and free market economists.

Efforts to cap credit card interest rates have typically been pitched by lawmakers on the Left. For instance, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) proposed a 15% cap on interest rates in 2019, although the plan failed to gain much momentum.

With the growing wave of populism sweeping the GOP, however, there has been some attention to rate caps among a few political figures on the Right. Last month, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a bill that would cap credit card interest rates at 18%.

Several groups immediately took aim at the Hawley proposal, which has little chance of going anywhere. The Consumer Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, and the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions were among several industry groups to push back on the plan.

“Proponents of a cap on credit card fees and interest believe that it would help consumers, especially subprime borrowers with less than perfect credit histories,” the groups wrote in a letter. “In reality, many consumers who currently rely on credit cards would be forced to turn elsewhere for short-term financing needs, including pawn shops, or worse — loan sharks, unregulated online lenders, and the black market.”

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Amid the historically high interest rates on credit cards, credit card debt (which dipped during the height of the pandemic when consumers were staying inside and receiving government stimulus payments) has soared.

Against the backdrop of high inflation, total U.S. consumer credit card debt reached an all-time record of $1.03 trillion in the second quarter of this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.