While management and oversight could have been stronger at this credit union, eliminating all credit unions under $1 million (and then move up, Bruen wrote) would destroy the only financial hope some people have beyond payday lenders and pawn shops. Plenty of very large credit unions are in horrible shape right now anyway so obviously the determining factor of a credit union worthy of existing is not necessarily asset size. If a small credit union fulfills a need and can do it in a safe and sound manner, more power to them. Large credit unions could be providing some back-office assistance, which would 1) be in line with the cooperative philosophy; 2) be politically wise; and 3) help some people of modest means along the way.

In the publishing world, we watch things like web site page views and unique visitors and time on site. One columnist at a mainstream paper was fired, in part, because his page views declined. Never mind the knowledge of the person or the talent; if you put George Clooney or Brittany Spears in the headline, you're golden but what's the value in that? What's next? Will parents' love be measured by the number of times they text their child?