More education.  Are we getting this?
 
Myth: Credit unions’ tax-exempt status gives them an unfair advantage over banks.
 
Fact: Actually, there’s no evidence to support this claim. Quite the contrary:
 
    Even as credit unions grow, banks have enjoyed record profits (i.e., price gouging, fees, sheer volume, tax loopholes, aggressive investing and risk-taking)
    Ten years ago, credit unions held 2.0% of America’s financial assets. Today they hold 2.1% (hmmm, not risking the farm with my money.  Not investing in derivatives.  Not changing the paradigm for a financial institution.  Not forgetting who is important...me).
 
    The typical credit union has $4 million in assets. The average bank holds $250 million.  
 
Looks like the injustice of the credit union just continues to grow.  

Net tax gain by taxing Credit Unions in 2012?  You'd see an increase in all federal revenue by 0.0014%.  All of 3 billion dollars.  
 
If you actually collected the taxes on Big Banks that were not shucking and jivving through loopholes (i.e., taxed them at an even reasonable 20%), you'd net an additional 173 billion dollars in additional revenue for the Federal Government.   So where is the injustice now?  Buried in the tax code I suppose, but you better have a good sniffer to find it.

But....the final word?
 
If banks don’t want to be taxed it’s simple. Don’t CREATE PROFITS. There’s no law that you have to charge borrowers 30% on their credit cards, and not bother loaning out the TARP funds you were given by tax payers, and pay 0% to savers, and meanwhile charge them hidden fees all to screw them out of as much money is possible to pay shareholders who are mostly the wealthiest in society. In fact, you don’t have to make profits. That is why a not for profit credit union takes the money it makes and lowers the interest rate just a little bit more for me.  I find that a great deal.
 
Banks used to be run on sound principles of guaranteed profits made over time, and consumers used to get a great deal (like a savings account rate of 2-3%, which i remember when i was young). Now, banks brought you the financial crisis of 2008 to give you less options on where to keep your money safe so that they can get more free capital based on your money while providing ZERO interest or value to society.  But plenty for the CEO.
 
Last thought...where in the federal budget does it say "...and the subsidy for U.S. Credit Union Industry..."  Where?  No where.  This isn't ethanol or soybeans.  I

so what should be done with the banking system today? What should be done about this horrendous, unfettered, unregulated greed? somebody needs do DO something. I am so sick of hearing whining and nothing being done. Not one person has been arrested for criminal financial practices. You know what we need? We need a 21st century Gandhi. Someone to sit on the capital steps with a sign..."i will not eat until 1 [Wall Street] arrest" is made. We will watch him slowly starve to death right in front of the news camera. Soldiers do it everyday. One dedicated civilian in some way needs to make an ultimate sacrifice for this country. Others will follow until change arrives.

Quote from buttwheat on May 23^rd, 2012, 10:43am:

 
and to quote the reply from D-smack:
Sorry to be jaded about your idea.  But if someone starved themselves to death on the front steps of the Federal Reserve in protest for what is transpiring in this country, his corpse would be arrested, receive a detailed filing with the Department of Homeland Security, and cease to be more than a bottom line blip on the newsmedia blurb wire.  After all, we can't interrupt the next round of American Idol.
 
I can only add that something needs to be done to resolve THIS argument. Butt, may I send you a match? Petrol is cheap in Thailand, so I can include a liter as a bonus............

Quote:

 
so YOU say...I'm willing now to donate $1000 to his grieving family.

smart move Venom...)) hope you bought as i did between 2005-2008... , although price is dropping a bit now....

there is nothing more uninteresting on god's green earth than listening to two dweebs babble about their investments

butt does not believe in capitalism or investing.  He lives frugally off the land, barters for essentials, and takes any folding money that he collects down to the orphanage so that the children can have food and a few toys.

Devil and Pats,
 
I would have never thought that you two could be swayed by the media.  Banks are bad now?  Because they make profits?  I am trying to understand this.  A company is evil if it competes in an open marketplace and makes money?  And Credit Unions are somehow sacred because they are deemed not for profit but can compete in the same marketplace as the banks?  Also, Devil credit unions are forbidden to lend to commercially.  They are unable to make small business loans.  Banks and private investment firms are the only lenders supporting small business.  The raw material needed to lend to those small businesses are the deposits that you two so happily removed from them and placed with credit unions.
 
The war on banks should be properly described as the war on publicly traded banks.  Small banks like mine are just caught in the cross fire.  The federal government (run primarily by democrats) has taken an active role in "reforming" the industry that feeds me.  This reform has largely been constituted by reducing the amount we can charge (shouldn't the market determine this?), increasing the amount of regulations (profit drain on private industry adds revenue to fed workers), and my personal favorite replacing 100 year legislation that was less than 100 pages with a freaking beast call Dodd Frank that is over 2500 pages and so ambiguous that it is unusable.  
 
Do any of you know that right now I cannot determine the rate that I charge on a home loan?  Regulation Z forces small banks to use an index to determine the average rate and we are allowed only a small percentage amount over that rate.  The reason for this is simple.  In house bank loans directly compete with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Small bank loans traditionally have a higher rate with a shorter term but with much lower fees.  Consumers often opt for these loans if they are uncertain as to how long they will stay in the home in order to avoid paying exorbitant fees for a long term fixed rate when they don't need it.  We can no longer lend profitably on in house loans.  So the marketplace is being reduced and soon the government will have a monopoly.  
 
That is probably the least confusing issue I could describe, but it is 1 of about 1000 facing bankers right now.  Too bad we are so evil.  I wish I worked for Apple.  I mean everyone loves them and they are not for profit right?  Oh yeah they are for profit but they pay huge corporate taxes right?  Oh less than 11%?  By funneling money (legally) through numerous tax shelters?  Oh well I wish I worked for apple.....in their accounting department.