Dear Heather,

I get it that you are often poking the bee hive to see if you can get a conversation going. (“CUNA Task Force Changes Must Bring Home a Win,” May 13, 2015, Credit Union Times) But I am not at all in the camp of a BIG change from Congress is necessarily a WIN.

HR 1151 was supposedly a big WIN. But the compromise we thought we had to make to get more community authority (like an MBL cap, etc.) has us griping about what we cannot now do. The compromise was so sweeping that state charter without any restrictions but with NCUSIF coverage suddenly were handcuffed from growing this valuable part of their future.

I am not saying that some compromise made sense. What I am saying is that so called big WINs sometimes come at too high a price.

I think the IRS win regarding unrelated business income was huge. I think not being included as a target in the initial draft of the tax code rewrite was huge. I think the RBC reissue was huge. I think CUNA and the leagues have had great success.

Have we been stabbed in the back by folks we thought were our supporters when it came time to collect on campaign promises? Yes. Do we have a stand-alone success to compare with HR 1151? Probably not. Have leagues had some BIG time success in their states, often with great support from CUNA? Yes. Have we got everything we want from state legislators or congress? No. But who has?

Should we make some huge change in our structure or our name or our leadership? I am kind of on the maybe not side. I keep thinking about the dog chasing the car. What would it ever do if it caught the car? It might be a huge mess that would divide the movement and delight our antagonists.

Let's be careful what we are asking for and not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

James D (Jim) Holt

President/CEO

Mid American Credit Union

Wichita, Kan.

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