According to a Jan. 7 article in Money, credit unions no longer offer an overdraft fee advantage over banks. According to Moebs Services, which was sourced in the article, the average bank overdraft charge is $30. The average credit union charge is $29. One lousy buck.

More than 40 million Americans overdraw their checking accounts each year, roughly 12.5% of the population. I'd imagine that percentage climbs significantly among those of modest means.

As of June 2015, overdraft fees topped $32 billion on an annual basis. If credit unions claim roughly 10% of the financial services market, that's $3.2 billion in annualized overdraft fees.

Credit unions argue that only a few members overdraw their accounts, but when 12.5% of customers generate billions in fee income – for most credit unions, 50% or more of total fee income – it's no wonder the CFPB sees a red flag.

Should members who balance their checkbooks subsidize those who don't? No, but if that argument is valid, why are your overdrafting members subsidizing everyone else's free checking?

It looks like discrimination. I'd bet most of you would argue no, it absolutely is not. All these people need to do is learn how to balance a checkbook.

Accounting is a skill that can be learned, but success depends on talent. I'm not good at math. I failed college algebra three times. Excel worksheets give me vertigo. Despite a lot of effort, budgeting is a very real struggle for me.

What if your access to financial services depended on your ability to write masterfully without making any grammar or spelling errors? It's not that hard, I can do it. Just learn already, you lazy bum.

Credit unions aren't financial nannies, but a little compassion would be nice. Couldn't an entry-level checking account lack the ability to go negative, with overdraft privileges offered to those who qualify? Check21 was 13 years ago and the float is history; debit and ACH approval are automated and instant. There are no operational excuses.

For years, consultants have told credit unions that young members want transaction accounts that don't go negative. Credit unions have ignored them, and then have the nerve to wonder aloud why the average member age keeps rising.

Credit unions don't like depending on fees to break even, and drastically reducing overdraft income would threaten safety and soundness for many credit unions. You have been forced to operate in a tough reality, but that doesn't make the fee solution right.

Income inequality is a growing problem in America. The popularity of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is evidence of that. Remember a few years ago at NAFCU Caucus when Sanders was booed on stage when he said redistribution of wealth was necessary? Most of you think he's crazy, but millions of American voters who aren't earning six figures think otherwise.

The poor pay a much higher percentage of their income on financial services. Those who can pay cash for a car, home or education, or qualify for a lower rate to finance those assets, pay much less for them. The well-off don't worry about overdraft fees, and in the rare instance they do, it doesn't harm their household budgets. However, when a poor American is hit with a $29 fee, the domino effect can be severe.

Are credit unions truly serving their members if their business model contributes to growing income inequality?

Instead of lobbying for supplemental capital or field of membership reform, should credit unions instead work harder to preserve the American dream? At the very least, let's admit fee income is a temporary solution that defies the cooperative philosophy. Credit unions need to reinvent their business model so it's good for the cooperative and its members. Some have already done so.

On a large scale, that's a tall order. The NCUA might not even allow it. But let's face facts: The way the country and the CFPB are heading, credit unions don't have a choice.

Heather Anderson is executive editor of CU Times. She can be reached at [email protected].

Disagree with CFPB Director Richard Cordray? Register for NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz' webinar with Cordray on Tuesday, Feb. 9 here.