On Wednesday, theCFPB took another swing at checking accounts, this time callingon financial institutions to offer more accounts that avoidoverdrafts and to improve the accuracy of reporting negativeaccount activity.

Specifically, the CFPB said banks and credit unions needimprovement.

Credit unions? The nerve! Credit unions are the good guys! Howcould the CFPB even think otherwise?

Read more: CFPB to Credit Unions – Checking Reporting on OurRadar

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

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

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

Credit unions argue that only a few members overdraw theiraccounts, but when 12.5% of customers generate billions in feeincome – 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 whodon't? No, but if that argument is valid, why are your overdraftingmembers subsidizing everyone else's free checking?

It looks like discrimination. I'd bet most of you would argueno, it absolutely is not. All these people need to do is learn howto balance a checkbook.

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

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

Credit unions aren't financial nannies, but a little compassionwould be nice. Couldn't an entry-level checking account lack the ability to gonegative, with overdraft privileges offered to those whoqualify? Check21 was 13 years ago and the float is history; debitand ACH approval are automated and instant. There are nooperational excuses.

For years, consultants have told credit unions that youngmembers want transaction accounts that don't go negative. Creditunions have ignored them, and then have the nerve to wonder aloudwhy the average member age keeps rising.

Credit unions don't like depending on fees to break even, anddrastically reducing overdraft income would threaten safety andsoundness for many credit unions. You have been forced to operatein a tough reality, but that doesn't make the fee solutionright.

Income inequality is a growing problem in America. Thepopularity of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is evidence ofthat. Remember a few years ago at NAFCU Caucus when Sanders was booed on stage when he saidredistribution of wealth was necessary? Most of you think he'scrazy, but millions of American voters who aren't earning sixfigures think otherwise.

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

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

Instead of lobbying for supplemental capital or field ofmembership reform, should credit unions instead work harder topreserve the American dream? At the very least, let's admit feeincome is a temporary solution that defies the cooperativephilosophy. Credit unions need to reinvent their business model soit's good for the cooperative and its members. Some have alreadydone so.

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

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

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