Subject: MEMBERSHIP FEES
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0 -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
X-Comment: The Transnational Radical Party List
MEMBERSHIP FEES - NOTE BY OTTAVIO
Several people have raised questions or expressed critical remarks
concerning the method applied by the transnational radical party to
establish the level of membership fees, and in particular the fact that the
level of the fee is linked to the per capita GNP of the country where each
member is living and not to the level of the member's actual personal
income.
I can easily agree with the opinion that a system where membership fees are
related to the level of personal income of each individual would be more
fair than the current system, where in each country the minimum fee is
equal to 1262f the per capita GNP of the previous year.
The problem, however, is that whilst the level of per capita GNP can be
easily determined for most countries, and ad-hoc levels can be determined
on an arbitrary basis even for countries in financial turmoil, such as most
republics of the former USSR, the radical party has no way to know and
check how much each member is actually earning.
Some people could argue that there is no reason for actually checking, that
we could trust each member's good faith. We have tried this approach some
years ago in Italy, and the results were very disappointing: considering
the average fee that was spontaneously paid, the average Italian should
have been earning less than the average african!
This disappointing experience has lead the radical party to insist in
establishing a minimum fee linked to the GNP, asking richer members to pay
higher fees. This system has actually worked: the minimum fee for italian
members for 1994 is 280.000 liras (155 $)
but the average amount actually paid by the first 750 individuals who have
already joined the party for 1994 has been 386.000 liras
(225 $). Most MPs, like myself, have paid 1.000.000 liras (590 $).
Unemployed people, students and members in financial difficulties have
sometimes asked to pay their fees in installments, and sometimes have not
been able to pay the full amount. On the other hand, we have received
donations by people who do not want to join as members but are ready to
contribute to help poorer members to pay their fees... in a word, the
system is working!
