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aedifico42| Dues: A Formula for Freemasonry.

Posted at: 11:13 pm

   “Increase our dues.”  Those three words are anathema to so many Masons.

   The issue has been debated in Lodges around the world for many years.  The issue will not go away until a reasonable formula is established for setting Dues.  Later on in this blog, you will see my proposal for that formula…but before making a proposal, let’s look at the fundamental question; Why do we need dues in the first place?

   Dues allow us to do what we NEED to do.  Pay rent, utilities, taxes (if applicable), per capita (Grand Lodge taxes) and all that other stuff like secretary supplies that must be paid and so forth.  Without these essential items, there simply is no Lodge.  The following, however, are not voluntary costs…like a VSL for a newly raised Mason, candles for degree work, PM aprons for the junior PM…these are unnecessary costs, from a purely economic sense.

   Dues, however, are not a purely economic consideration.  They let us do all of the other stuff that we don’t ’need’ to do, but those things we ‘want’ to do.  For example…four walls and a roof is really all we need, right?  Of course it is, so long as there is a door to close and a wooden barrel in the center, we could all sit around on the ground with our legs crossed and still do our thing.  But is it not part of our legacy to build the finest temples we can, both in a figurative and a literal sense?

   The statement above (”…dues…are not purely economic”) is important because dues are an emotional issue more than they are economic.  That’s worth repeating - DUES ARE an EMOTIONAL issue.
Dues are a statement that we make each year to our fraternity…telling our brothers that we are choosing to stay in good standing.  That card in your wallet is a testament to your willingness to continue supporting your Craft.  But what is it worth…really?  How much is that card in your wallet WORTH?

   To be sure, you don’t have to pay your dues to be a Mason…right?  I mean, we always talk about the guys who are Masons without really knowing it…right?  Anybody, after the proper initiation, passing and raising, can pretty-much find the “right” information on the internet and in any library, blog or email folks around the world…subscribe to whatever research society they choose (how many of them check for ‘good standing’ on their perpetual members?)…and continue his personal quest to “Light” without needing a Lodge…right?

   Wrong.  Real Masons attend their Lodge meetings, they support that same Lodge with dues, and they appreciate that you can’t be part of a fraternity on your own.  We are NOT “A Fraternity of One.” (I hope the Army doesn’t sue me for this).  We are emotionally, spiritually, and geographically connected to that ‘place’ we call home…whether it’s on a highest hill or in a lowest vail…or even in another State. We pay to carry the card.

   At the present time, most of the brothers I hear from indicate that their dues are laughably low.  Some even charge as little as $35 per year for continued membership.  While some might not like the exercise, I’d ask you to answer this question…am I paying more for annual dues than for cable tv?  How about that cup of coffee twice per week?  Smokes?  Annual chip-in for Fantasy Football?  Why is something SO important…SO life-altering…SO big-of-a-freaking-deal, SOOOOO CHEAP????

   What’s your membership worth?  Have you ever really thought about it?

[Here’s where I get militant…and if you are sensitive and not willing to listen to an opinion that you might disagree with…stop reading.]

   We should shut up about how great Freemasonry is and put our money where our mouths are.  All this talk about the greatest and oldest fraternity in the world…pride…knowledge…spiritual growth…brotherly love…it’s all a bunch of hot-air when each one of us is not willing to fork-out the cash necessary for the organization to live-up to its expectations.  There, I said it. Put-up or shut up.

  We are hypocrites when we proudly blather about our private, men-only exclusive and secluded organization that has a hard time putting a new coat of paint on the walls!

   Enough with the complaining.  We all know that dues need to increase sharply…and we all know that there are plenty of arguments why it should. But just increasing dues for the sake of having more money is as silly and short-sighted as saying we can’t increase dues because of our “poor brothers on a fixed income.” Yeah, right. (How many of those guys go to the Casino once a month and drop a few Benjamins…hmmm?)

So here’s the idea. Masonic Grand Jurisdictions ought to think of a way to establish a formula that will 1) be flexible enough to change as the price of things changes, and 2) fix a steady source of income so that brothers don’t have to go around begging and pleading for money with time-wasting fundraisers and other non-sense like that.

The Formula should take into account that the Grand Lodge is also going to increase its per-capita tax once in a while, so for starters, each Lodge ought to establish that no matter what their dues are, per-capita is a separate charge (to be added to the Dues bill).

The Formula is simple; Annual dues shall be fixed at one percent of the State’s Median Household Income as established by the U.S. Census for Masons between the ages of 30 and 60. Masons up to 29 years old, and older than 60 shall pay one half of one percent of the Median Household Income. Annual dues will not include Grand Lodge per-capita, but said per-capita shall be remitted to the Lodge annually along with Dues. [This formula, of course, would be modified properly for other countries that don’t have the good fortune of having their own U.S. Census Bureau.]

So, New Jersey Masons (for this example, we use 2000 census numbers, and the age 30 - 60 bracket) would have to pay $542 per year while West Virginia Masons would have to pay $285 per year. But think of the advantages…think of the simplicity…think of the predictability…no more fighting about dues!

A small tight-knit Lodge of about 50 men could easily make ends meet. In Arizona, for example, the Median was $38,537. That means $385 per man per year to the Lodge (if you can’t swallow less than $33 per month, you got problems). If you had 50 men, that translates into $19,250 per year income from dues. I can’t think of a scenario where even a small Lodge could not thrive (with an environment worthy of Freemasonry) with those kinds of numbers!

Here’s a real-world example for more illustration. Picture two Lodges, one with about 120 guys closes, and they merge. The closed Lodge buys perpetual memberships for all its members into the new Lodge. Now the total number of members in the merged Lodge is about 220. So the smaller Lodge gets the advantage of numbers right? Wrong. Now the Lodge has LESS paying members who support ALL the brothers from both Lodges (by support we mean building maintenance, food, furniture and all that stuff). Further, lets assume that the annual Dues in this Lodge are $50 per year, and the cost to operation the building, without a mortgage, is about $10,000 per year.

At $50 per year dues, it would take 200 dues paying members to run the building. But with less than 100 members paying dues, the Lodge has to struggle each year, with deaths and departures and suspensions, to stay afloat.

Now take that same Lodge and increase the Dues according to the formula above. You only need 26 men paying full dues to run the whole operation. 26 men! Wow.

Pretend you’re the grumpy (cheap) retiree. Here’s the challenge…take the $50 annual dues, add ten meetings where you donate $10 per meal, random trips to the soda closet/coffee pot at $60 per year, raffle tickets at $50 per year…etc….etc. What does it add up to? About the cost of membership for a 60+ year old Mason in Arizona (under the formula).

Dues are necessary. Dues give us the ability to do the things we want to do and the things we need to do. Most importantly, dues allow us to treat each other, and our Craft, with dignity and respect in a setting that feels appropriate for the Great Work of Freemasonry…that is, unless we are not paying enough.

Hardship can be addressed. Under the formula, fixed income concerns need only be adjusted once every ten years. These are red herring issues that nay-sayers raise because they are cheap. I love them like brothers…and I respect them enough to be truthful about their attitude.

But after all that…here’s the REAL test about our dues: Go to your newest member (or even a prospective member) and ask him what he EXPECTED to pay for dues before we told him how low they were. Chances are, his answer will be near or higher than the formula proposes.

Why are we selling ourselves short?

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