From: SCAM@hnewstrom.ess.harris.com (Harvey Newstrom)
Subject: Dues Increase!
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 01:40:51 GMT
Organization: Space Coast Area Mensa

The following items are reprinted from the October SCAM, newsletter of
Space Coast Area Mensa, Harvey Newstrom editor.  Permission is granted for
all reprints as long as proper attribution is given.


Editorial
How to Avoid the High Cost of Mensa
by Harvey Newstrom, Editor

	At the Portland AMC meeting on September 12th, the AMC voted to raise the
membership dues to $45 per person.  There is much talk in this issue of the
newsletter about whether these dues are justified or whether the amounts are
too much.  For most members of this organization, we are not interested in the
money troubles of the National Office.  We are interested in our own persona
finances.  To these people I propose a solution to the problem of high prices: 
Don't pay.
	American Mensa is as rooted in the American philosophy as Motherhood, Apple
Pie, and Deficit Spending.  The workings of the national office are as
convoluted and mystifying as any that our federal government has developed. 
Its secrecies and scandals and politics are controlled by the top 2%
intelligences of our country, and there is no doubt that everything is planned
and devised with the utmost care.
	But, this is a great nation.  We have more freedoms of choice than most
nations on the planet.  Likewise, we have the ability to choose our future in
Mensa as well.  And yes, in the great American tradition, we will make our
choices known with the Great American Dollar.  So when it comes to an
undesirable dues increase, I tell the great American consumer:  vote with your
dollars!
	Now how can you continue to have the benefits of Mensa without paying the
newly increased membership dues?  Some may mistakenly believe that the AMC is
currently acting in a mode more like a dictatorship rather than that of a free
market.  To these people I would point out the market of choices available.
	It is not true that you must buy the entire  goods of Mensa in a single
take-it-or-leave-it deal.  There is a full menu of marketable choices, each
with its own prices, and each with its own individual existence.  The
membership dues of American Mensa, Ltd. are actually just a bulk deal,
combining a variety of goods and services under one price.  But when that price
becomes too high, it is time to examine each item individually to see if the
price is worth paying.
	You want to keep the benefits of Mensa, but don't want to pay the high price? 
Decide which benefits you actually wish to receive.  Don't pay the membership
fee next year.  Don't remain a member of Mensa.  You can still purchase most of
the benefits you desire directly from Mensa, because most of these benefits are
on sale to nonmembers and members alike.
	You can receive The Bulletin for only $12 per year.  If you don't want it,
don't buy it.  You can receive The SCAM for only $7 per year.  If you don't
want it, don't send any money.  You can still attend SCAM events as a
nonmember.  You can be invited by any member as their guest, or get invited by
the host.  The kitty price will be the same whether you are a member or not. 
You can also still attend our RG for the regular registration price.  Our
speakers do, and so do many other nonmembers.  You also can still advertise in
The SCAM, and again for the same price as members.  In fact, you can get
virtually all the same benefits you enjoy now by buying direct.  You pay for
only what you use.  And when you cut out the middle-man, you save big, and your
local group actually sees more of your money.  You pay less and the local group
gets more.  What could be better?  
	The only thing you don't get if you choose not to make the $45 payment to the
national office, is the right to declare yourself a current Mensa member.  Now
if you are one of those jerks who still wears the yellow map pin and announces
his Mensa membership daily, then you must still pay the full $45 price for that
privilege.  But if you are one of the other kind of Mensan who merely reads all
the newsletters, attends all the local events, goes to all the RGs, and gets
involved with lengthy discussions with other interesting people, then you have
no need to pay the $45 fee for a privilege you will never use.  Power of choice
to the consumer:  It's the American Way.