Money, voting, and changing things that feel unchangeable.
These are all concepts I’ve been giving a lot of thought to lately. In this very global world we live in, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the weight of all the things that need your attention, that need your choice and your voice to make change. Some days it can feel like there’s no point in even starting, because you will never finish – because things like the economy and the environment and the ways in which we live our lives, feel unchangeable. When I start really thinking about these ideas, it’s like all the things I want to say and do get stuck in ball in my throat – I can physically feel it there, it’s hard to swallow. It’s hard to breath. How can I make any difference?
Let’s start by talking about money – what is money? Giant stacks of plasticized, bills – stacked in vaults somewhere feeding the mechanisms by which we go through the day? Yes. Numbers on a screen digitally transferred to and from different sources in exchange for the things we want or need? Yes. Work the frontline of a financial institution long enough and the bills lose all meaning – they become an instrument you use to do your job – a dirty, disgusting, germ covered, instrument that you move around all day.
Money is choices, it is a tool that you can use to vote, to have your voice heard, or a lack of it can silence you. Mostly, it is opportunity cost – Opportunity cost, is the opportunity you lost by making one choice over another. For example, you may have to choose between a winter holiday in Mexico or a Starbucks coffee every day – if you choose the coffee, the holiday is your opportunity cost (as are all the other things you didn’t purchase or experience because you put your dollars towards that coffee). I find this is a really useful way to start thinking about money in a different way – it’s not just a mechanism for getting things – it is also a means by which we make choices.
I started working in the financial industry 13 years ago, and even in my first job there, with one of the big banks, I knew something wasn’t sitting well for me. I was in my early 20s, and I saw so many people getting access to credit they had never been taught to manage properly. The bank evaluated a couple numbers on a screen, and deemed you worthy of credit. They weren’t looking at how that credit might serve you, or whether or not you had the maturity and the understanding to manage it responsibly – no, they were looking at whether or not it seemed like, at the bare minimum you could make a minimum payment, pose them minimum risk, and allow their shareholders to maximize their wealth. That is what a bank does – and that’s not a criticism. It’s the business model they have built, by which to offer you a product and be compensated, just like any other business. Your bank account, your investments, your mortgage, these are the commodities of the financial industry. I didn’t quite understand any of this at the time – it just felt wrong and unfair.
And let’s be honest, it’s structured to be unfair – if you don’t have the means to access credit, or invest, you have no ability to purchase the commodity that the bank is selling. You are not their customer, and they have no vested interest in providing you service. In this way, it is no different from most other traditional business models.
Now I’ve worked for a financial cooperative, for 8 years – and I knew that we had an interest in doing things differently. But it’s not until recently that I started to REALLY understand what is fundamentally different between banks and credit unions. At a very basic level, banks are owned and run by shareholders – i.e. the guy with the most cash, buys the most stocks, and has the loudest voice. Credit Unions (and co-operatives) operate by a set of international standards that set a different tone. They are owned equally, by the people who use their services. Each member has one voting share, and therefore equal voice. Many credit unions were set up to allow access to those who couldn't access credit at more traditional financial institutions, so by their very reason for being, they are different. The governing board is made up of members and voted for by members. So where does the excess money go, if not to shareholders? Well, sometimes it does go to shareholders (members) – as with models like Red River Co-op. The bottom line, is that the money goes where the board (remember, made up of representatives from the membership) determines it should go. In our case, it goes into initiatives that support the community. It goes into programs that support financial literacy, programs that support financial access for communities that are traditionally underserved by financial institutions, programs that remove barriers to financial participation, it goes into initiatives that support the environment. And, of course, we invest in the strength of our Credit Union – so that we can be financially viable, and continue to serve our members and our employees (who are also members). We are one of 3 financial institutions in Canada (all credit unions, by the way) that belong to the Global Alliance for Banking on Values – an organization that networks financial institutions around the world, who are committed to using their role in the financial industry to “deliver sustainable development for unserved people, communities and the environment.” I can say with all honesty, that Assiniboine Credit Union is involved in making your community better in more ways than I can possibly tell you about.
So now, let’s talk about voting with your dollars. This is a concept I started turning around in my head when I was starting to feel concerned about where our meat is being sourced from. I was feeling terrible about eating animals that lived miserable lives on farms that contributed mass amounts of pollution to the environment. I considered vegetarianism – which didn’t fit for me for a few reasons. First, quite simply put I LOVE meat. Second, not buying meat felt like not voting on an issue I feel really strongly about. Vegetarianism is a valid life choice that I support wholeheartedly, which people subscribe to for a variety of different reasons - but if my end goal was to have an impact on the way our meat is sourced, on the way those animals are treated before they get to my plate, then I needed to keep my voice, and my money in the game. I needed for the meat producers, to still be paying attention to how I spent my dollars – to their opportunity cost, of not raising meat in an ethical manner. So I found a local butcher that is endorsed by the Humane Society, who sources locally and ethically raised animals. That is voting with your dollars.
With that simple choice, I’m voting for so many principles I can feel good about – I’m voting to support a local business, I’m voting to support local farmers and their families, I’m voting to support a system with less environmental impacts, and I’m voting for the ethical treatment of an animal before its life is sacrificed to feed mine. Those are votes I feel pretty great about.
Back this idea up a bit, and consider this: what kind of world are your dollars voting for when you choose which financial institution to deal with? One where shareholders make money at any expense, to the exclusion of everyone else’s needs? Or one where profits are aim to create an inclusive system that seeks to operate in way that is cognoscente of its impacts on people and the planet?
But are these types of business models sustainable? Small shops that serve their communities? Worker co-ops? Credit Unions that have pie in the sky dreams of changing the economy, and the way we participate in it? Wait? Changing the economy? Isn’t that one of those big, unchangeable concepts we were talking about back at the beginning of this monologue of mine? I challenge you to stop thinking about it as unchangeable. It IS changeable – you can shape it by voting with your dollars.
If you want to understand the impacts your dollars are having, try visualizing them beyond your initial point of purchase. Where does the money go next? Does it go back into your local economy, allowing businesses to create jobs and supporting growth in your community? Does it go to a corporate head office in Toronto, or Beijing? What are some of the impacts of where your money went? Do you like the world your vote is helping to shape? What is your opportunity cost of where you chose to spend your dollars?
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Vancouver and do some work with Vancity Credit Union (one of the other two Canadian GABV members). They are doing a lot of the same things Assiniboine is doing – but they are probably about 5 years further down the path than we are. The great thing I got from this visit was hope – hope that these are not just “pie in the sky” dreams of a small credit union. Vancity has over $18 billion in assets and more than 500,000 members. Their CEO, Tamara Vrooman, says that they don’t do good things because they make profit – they profit because they do good things. They profit because they do good things – just stop and mull that over for a minute. It’s huge. Because of the economic impact Vancity has had in B.C., and their differentiated model, Tamara was invited to meet with the Pope and the Dalai Lama. They are proof that this model can have impact and influence – and by having those things, this model can help to reshape the economy.
Want more information on places you can go in Winnipeg to vote with your dollars? Try the Social Purchasing Portal. Or if you are looking for something specific, message me and I’ll see if I can point you in the right direction.
On that note, I’m going to leave you with a few thoughts:
- Don’t be afraid to get started. You don’t have to make an impact all of the time, with every decision, but if you never get started you won’t make any impact at all. And don’ get overwhelmed - As Brendan Reimer likes to say “Get involved in something you can’t do by yourself, and that can’t be achieved in your lifetime.” It really puts into perspective that sometimes change is slow, and not something we can accomplish on our own - but that doesn't make it impossible, or not worth doing.
- Choice is often a privilege, especially if it is linked to money – it’s important to recognize that sometimes we don’t have the privilege of voting the way we might want to with our dollars, because it is not within our means to do so. There are other ways that you can impact change - like deciding whether to bank with a Credit Union or a Bank.
Lastly – if you still think you are too small, or too insignificant to change the unchangeable. Watch this video, and remember: wolves change rivers.
