I worked for a not-for-profit cooperative for several years. It was a credit union. The credit union I worked for was fairly large, having nearly $10 billion in assets. The products and services we provided to our members were comparable, if not superior, to those offered by for-profit banks, our rates were usually better than banks, and our members (account holders) were invited to vote on credit union business once a year, including the nomination and election of the board of directors. It was a great place to work.

We need cooperatives (of both the for-profit and not-for-profit variety), especially in housing. It's going to take significant government action to make cooperatives as ubiquitous as I believe they need to become.