Are credit unions really successful at achieving their mission? Do credit unions have an objective system to assess how successful they are reaching out to people of modest means? Are credit unions just wearing white hats of virtue, but do they have no cattle? If Diogenes shined his lamp on your credit union, would he find an honest operation?

With more people on the fringe turning to usurious solutions to their financial needs, the answer seems to be no. Yet, credit unions market the legend, not the reality. A potentially honest assessment of current status of the credit union system is that it is only slightly less egregious than banks with delivering financial services to A and B level members.

Over the years I have participated in many strategic planning sessions. They usually start with a self-congratulatory mirror, mirror on the wall moment. Considerable time is spent chest bumping about how good we were and how bad everyone else was. As a facilitator or mirror I would never consider not claiming that credit unions weren't the fairest of them all. Financial considerations tend to trump my objectivity.