Since the recent implosion of the American financial system, I've been wondering why we don't hear more about the notion of moving our personal resources into credit unions?
Given that the corporate banking system is on shaky ground and can't be trusted with our hard-earned dollars, should we be moving our savings into credit unions? Over 100 commercial banks have already been liquidated in 2009, raising concerns that the surviving institutions are getting even bigger and will exercise more control over the market, and will surely enjoy increased political clout.
Credit unions are non-profits, and can thus offer a better deal on most of their services than commercial banks. The membership owns and directs the operation. Some of them are open to union members, teachers, or other specific groups, but many have open admissions that don't require affiliation with any organization.
Should progressives pull their money out of the banking system and deposit it with a credit union? Might we form our own credit union? Could it exist online, without a physical location? I have no expertise or experience in the financial industry, so I'm just throwing this out there to jump-start the conversation. Our financial system and our democracy are so dysfunctional and corrupt at the moment that I'm looking for opportunities where we the people can simply create our own systems. Would appreciate your perspective. Here's the Wikipedia entry for credit unions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...