<VV> Convention issue of Communique

[corvairs]

Hank - Harry and Mike had northing to do with the dues increase - it was 
an action by the board to stave off what would have been a crisis year 
without it - We decided to stay a slight step ahead of the curve. The 
last dues increase was 1997 - We're all mature intelligent adults  who 
have lived on earth the past 8 years so it would seem unbelievable that 
anyone out there would whine about a very modest dues increase. The 
truth is, I was in favor of a slightly larger increase and so was almost 
a majority of the other directors - but  not a majority. As a result  we 
got a smaller increase, which in my opinion, means we'll be back asking 
for another increase sooner than we would have - Never the less.........

Many of the parts I (and others) sell will have/have had a bigger 
increase in price JUST in 2005 than this Corsa dues increase to cover 
the last 8 years!!!  We really need to stop strangling Corsa financially 
and start behaving like mature adults who know full well that 
prices/expenses have continued to rise every year - and will continue to 
do so. I can absolutley guarrantee that Social Security has increased 
MUCH more than this very modest dues increase and so has virtually 
everything else.

Would the tiny minority of  our members who may (or may not) scream 
about this increase support a proposal that the dues would automatically 
increase by the US consumer price index every year?  Everything else 
increases at least that much. If this is agreeable to them then 
immediatly triple the amount we increased the dues. Am I overstating the 
case?

I'm not going to critisize past boards for not increasing dues before 
now? No, because I understand the reasoning - Corsa wasn't  facing 
immediate financial disaster and dues increases are not popular. So this 
board got stuck with the dirty work.

Now a vocal few will ask - couldn't Corsa cut expenses instead - Well of 
course it could, but exactly how decimated would you like the 
organization to get?  Corsa has been losing ground financially every 
year we've had inflation (no matter how small)  so a lot has been cut 
back in some form or another already.  Still there are repeated calls on 
this list and elsewhere for Corsa to do more - in a whole universe of 
projects. Doesn't add up does it?

Lon Wall
Western Director Corsa

>Hank rote -
>  What I would like to see is some kind of article from the
>CORSA Treasurer or Harry explaining the why's and wherefores of the dues increase. I don't want to tell Harry his business, he doesn't tell me about mine. But somehow methinks an article on it in the front of the magazine would have been preferrable to the negative feedback I fear will be coming from a short blurb in the last column of one of the last pages.
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>Hank
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