Carolinas' Credit Union League CEO Dan Schline is lobbying for passage of H. 410, primarily on behalf of SECU, which has announced intentions of moving toward an open - anyone can join - public membership. CEO Schline pooh-poohs those intentions, although SECU's now famous "Fireside Chat" videos document those intentions clearly.
Mr. Schline claims that open membership for state-chartered credit unions - which passage of H. 410 would enable - is really about serving North Carolinians stranded in "financial deserts" without access to financial service. Mr. Schline and crew have even come up with a map showing those North Carolina deserts (see below - the "red" shaded areas).
You will note that the definition of a "desert" is no bank branch within 10 miles. Of course, the CCUL leader does seem to overlook the presence of a gazillion ATMs, not to mention that "all digital, no branches" future vision that some - you know who - credit unions are espousing.
But lets not argue about reality, we need to look at why CCUL and Mr. Schline are having a growing "incredibility" problem over at the Legislature with H. 410. Here's the classic example. Look at the North Carolina map and focus on the "red shaded financial desert" west of Asheville - see the second map to have a closer view.
Now look at the last map and visually compare it to the west of Asheville "financial desert" map. See the similarity? Do you know what that last map is?
It's a map of the Smokey Mountains National Park. I assume that Mr. Schline is slyly proposing that open membership should include financially strapped bears ...
Some would simply say that this sort of specious, "false deserts" lobbying is....well... preposterous!
Not only preposterous, but also unbearable!
