When the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a third-quarter3.5% growth the U.S. gross domestic product in October, economicexperts fairly crowed with renewed – and no longer cautious –optimism.

Even the normally reticent Federal Reserve, bolstered byeconomic growth, ended its quantitative easing program in October,ceasing its efforts to buy back bonds as a way to stimulate aneconomy its officers clearly believe to be on the mend. Compared tothe economies of other developed countries, in fact, Uncle Sam hasonce again emerged as leader of the pack.

But trouble still exists in a seemingly economically vibrantparadise. As Fed Chair Janet Yellen noted in early October that when it comes toeconomic growth, not all U.S. consumers have healed at the samerate and to the same degree, and many clearly have struggled. Thegrowing inequity signals both an opportunity and an obligation forthe nation's credit unions.

“The extent of and continuing increase in inequality in theUnited States greatly concern me,” Yellen told attendees Oct. 17 atthe Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's Conference on EconomicOpportunity and Inequality.

“It is no secret that the past few decades of wideninginequality can be summed up as significant income and wealth gainsfor those at the very top and stagnant living standards for themajority,” Yellen said. “I think it is appropriate to ask whetherthis trend is compatible with values rooted in our nation'shistory, among them, the high value Americans have traditionallyplaced on equality of opportunity.”

Historical values notwithstanding, the larger question may bewhat the widening U.S. wealth gap will mean to average consumers'financial wellbeing, as well as the country's sustained ability tocontinue competing in the global marketplace.

Credit unions and their members are not immune to the trend'seconomic and social fallout. But in some ways their role in servingprimarily middle-class and low-income people puts them on the rightside of the gap in terms of their social mission and potential toprosper.

“Credit unions have never had the facility for serving thegrowing number of billionaires,” William Myers, director of NCUA'sOffice of Small Credit Union Initiatives and former president ofthe $90 million Alternatives Federal Credit Union, a community developmentcooperative based in Ithaca, N.Y., said. “The wealthy 1% are notcredit union members, but it's the other side of the market that'sexciting for us.”

The opportunity to serve a growing number of people puts creditunions in a pivotal position not only now but as that gap continuesto widen, Myers said. It's a chance for credit unions to live theirphilosophical underpinnings as they may not have anticipated.

“We should be concerned about the weakness of the economy andwealth disparity, but as businesses this is a nice opportunity tohelp people,” Myers said. “When you move into this market, the netbenefit to members skyrockets, and for credit unions who feel theirsocial mission closely, this is a great place to be.”

The wealth gap has always existed, some economists assert, butthe recession of 2008 helped escalate the gap's spread in ways andto population segments that had been relatively unaffected.Moreover, the gap's widening spread has helped expose a basicinequity in the way the U.S. economy has evolved in recent times,according Michael E. Porter with the Harvard Business School.

In his research study, An Economy Doing Half Its Job,released in September, Porter and co-author Jan W. Rivkin, examinedU.S business competitiveness and the stumbling blocks to itscontinued success. While the authors focused on key areas thatincluded failure of the country's K-12 educational system, adecline in workplace skills and morale, and crumblingtransportation infrastructure and the confusing policies thatgovern it, Porter and Rivkin surfaced a critical social failure inthe myopic way U.S. business leaders view success.

“Our sense that the American economy is doing only half its jobis amplified by the recent business cycle, with its jobless,low-wage recovery,” the authors wrote, citing the lack ofmeaningful employment and well-compensated workers.

Business recovery that benefits corporate entities withoutcorrespondingly benefiting the employees whose efforts have helpedfuel that recovery are overlooking an aspect that is bothcritically and economically important, the researchers wrote.

Porter and Rivkin noted that a “recent divergence of outcomes,with firms (especially larger firms) thriving and workersstruggling, is unusual in the United States.”

Its impact, they said, may have unprecedented and not entirelypositive results.

Read more: Not the usual U.S. recovery…

Historically speaking, the researchers noted,American companies and citizens have either thrived together, as inthe post-World War II economic boom, or suffered together, as theydid during the Great Depression of the 1930s. This current recoveryshowed a marked departure for that pattern.

“Shortsighted executives may be satisfied with an Americaneconomy whose firms win in global markets without lifting U.S.living standards,” the researchers wrote. “But any leader with along view understands that business has a profound stake in theprosperity of the average American.

“Thriving citizens become more productive employees, morewilling consumers, and stronger supporters of pro-businesspolicies. Struggling citizens are disgruntled at work, frugal atthe cash register, and anti-business at the ballot box,” theycontinued. “We agree strongly with this view: Businesses cannotsucceed for long while their communities languish.”

The isolationist approach that businesses have taken towardtheir own communities is driving the wealth gap, wrote Porter andRivkin.

But there is a need for an even more precise understanding ofthe problem, according to Arthur Woolf, associate professor ofeconomics at the University of Vermont and board member for the $1billion New England Federal Credit Union in Williston, Vt.

“The wealth gap is hard to measure and has longer termconsequences, because people accumulate wealth over time,”according to Woolf, who is also president of the Vermont Council onEconomic Education. “Most people dealing with that issue in thereal world are more concerned about the gap between rich and poorin terms of income.”

Woolf's observations, which echoed the Harvard Business Schoolstudy, pointed to the continued decline in education and trainingas a primary factor, along with changes in the nature ofcompensation, including the increasing role that health carebenefits and their rising costs play as part of most compensationpackages.

If American business lacks competitiveness on the global stage,it's due in part to a workforce whose skills and educational edgehas dulled over time, Woolf said. That's part of the problem, butoften endemic to the solutions U.S. businesses have fostered.

“The ultimate issue is that there are a lot of people who lackthe skills to get a good job,” Woolf said. “One hundred years ago,the U.S. was the world leader in education. Over the past 30 yearsthose numbers have been stuck and the rest of the developed worldnow has equal to or more people with higher degrees. That's whythere's a problem.”

Credit unions can play a role, not necessarily in providingjob-training skills, but in supporting continued financialeducation of members. As the gap, whether defined as an income gapor wealth gap, continues its spread, credit unions' mission toserve members takes on greater meaning, Woolf said. What thatmission means in practical terms is not as clear as it may havebeen in years past.

“This is all complicated and there are no easy solutions,” Woolfsaid. “The political sound bites and promises are not the solutionto this problem, but education and greater skills development canbe.”

But credit unions that want and need to play a role need to relyon more than a mission statement. Pro-active product developmentand outreach efforts to reach those that not only need credit unionservices but whose participation can help credit unions growmeaningfully and mind the gap in a positive way are necessary,according to Brian Turner, owner of and chief economic strategistfor Median Alliance LLC, a credit union consulting firm based inPlano, Texas.

The gap seems to be most significantly felt by consumers 35 to45 years old, Turner said. Because most members skew in a slightlyolder direction, credit unions have both a duty and an opportunityto attract younger members, particularly those defined as Millennials, to provide financial services and help grow theinstitutions.

“Yet, I question whether we, as an industry, are doing anythingto reach out to this demographic,” Turner said, noting thatMillennials number 45.8 million nationwide, exceeding in size andinfluence of baby boomers and Generation X.

“In fact, the data show that many Millennials don't even knowwhat a credit union is and that knowledge of the products andservices that credit unions offer is significantly lower than theirknowledge of banks, thrifts or even insurance companies,” Turneradded.

Demographic trends also indicate that Millennials stand toinherit trillions of dollars in the decade to come, making thepursuit of this group not only an appropriate and sound servicestrategy, but also a wise business decision.

Despite, or perhaps because of that, Turner has high hopes forthe role credit unions can play now and in the future in helpingbridge both the wealth and income gaps. Credit unions'philosophical mission will help drive their influence, headded.

The surveys also show that credit union members, across theboard, have a much higher level of service satisfaction than docustomers of alternative financial institutions, Turner said.

“The moral? Once we get members and have an opportunity to proveour dedication, they become extremely loyal, particular when thecredit union displays an high measure of competence andprofessionalism,” he noted.