It seems to me that current events have given us a terrific opportunity to effectively engage the banking industry from an offensive rather than a defensive posture.

Consumers are furious with what they perceive to be a clearly visible link between obscene oil industry profits and escalating gas prices. Whether or not those profits can be defended by the oil industry is not really important from a consumer perspective. What is important is the focus on the word "profits" and how that is currently being translated into economic pain for most constituents of our state and federal legislators. What a wonderful opportunity we have to proclaim the tremendous consumer benefits resulting from a strong viable not-for-profit sector of the financial community. What a great opportunity to point out one of the industries that actually makes greater profits than the oil industry is-the banking industry! What a terrific opportunity to emphasize to our state and federal legislators the hypocrisy of the bankers' age-old blather regarding their charges of "unfair competition." At the same time the banks are pulling in more profits from American consumers than even the oil companies are, they are trying to limit their not-for-profit competitors from giving consumers a break!

Isn't it a shame that the oil industry doesn't have a viable not-for-profit alternative? Wouldn't it be tragic to allow the bankers to diminish the effectiveness of their not-for-profit competitors by limiting their ability to serve more consumers, or by loosening the procedures to protect members' ownership of their credit union from a conversion to a bank so that the banking industry can simply generate greater profits?