Look at all these co-ops, courtesy the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Cooperatives:
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The center’s executive summary details the impact cooperatives are having on the U.S. economy: “Nearly 30,000 U.S. cooperatives operate at 73,000 places of business throughout the U.S. These cooperatives own >$3T in assets, and generate >$500B in revenue and >$25B in wages. Extrapolating from the sample to the entire population, the study estimates that cooperatives account for nearly $654B in revenue, >2M jobs, $75B in wages and benefits paid, and a total of $133.5B in value-added income.”
So the question is: Next time you play Co-opoly, what co-op does your team want to be? An electric co-op in Alabama, a credit union in Michigan, or a food co-op in Oregon? The list could go on and on—there are so many options!
