Unsung Heroes of the US Economy: Cooperatives

Competition, competion, competition.  It may be time for a little cooperation.  At least, the United Nations seems to think so.  

The United Nations General Assembly has officially named the year 2012 as the “International Year of Cooperatives.”  For too long, the council concurs, governments around the world have not done enough to support cooperatives which create economic opportunities for millions of people in the United States and billions of people around the world. 

Recruiters may not always be trained in the way cooperatives do business, but now might be the time to determine how cooperatives might solve some of the problems at large in your community.  Or perhaps there are business models that you work with that would naturally benefit from collective ownership and responsibility. 

According to Paul Hazen, Chief Executive of the National Cooperative Business Association, the American economy is already benefitting from cooperatives, but the government is not doing enough to support them.  On June 2, Paul Hazen participated in a round table discussion on economic development and the economy with President Obama’s top business and economic councils.

He said, “Cooperatives are focused on the triple bottom line: economic success, social progress, and environmental tewardship. As businesses, they have business needs. In these economic times, now more than ever, cooperatives need access to capital to grow and to create jobs.”

He identified 29,000 cooperatives, with 120 million members, operating in 73,000 places of business throughout our nation.  He also noted that US cooperatives account for more than $3 trillion in assets, over $500 billion in annual revenue, $25 billion in wages and benefits, and nearly 2 million jobs.

These numbers suggest the vital role of cooperatives in the US economy, but these business models still do not get all of the support that small businesses do.  For instance, cooperatives are not allowed to receive loans from Small Business Administration lending programs.  These are loans typically invaluable to business entreneurs. 

Perhaps in the “International Year of Cooperatives” there will be significant change in the way the United States does business.