AOPA Dues going up again

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MichiPilot

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MichiPilot
Just received a renewal notice to lock in a $49 annual rate before the dues go up to $69 in 2017. That's what 3 or 4 hikes in the last 5 years?
 
I haven't renewed, but I keep getting these "last chance" to renew emails. 3-4 so far.
 
99 bucks a year for legal council? Can't beat that with a stick.!! In and staying in just for that.

And it more than paid for itself a few times when I needed it.
 
69 for AOPA vs 40 for EAA. That's on reason why now only member of EAA.
 
jimwomble said:
69 for AOPA vs 40 for EAA.
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See that? Even the association for certificated aircraft costs 70% more than for experimental aircraft.

I'm sure the AOPA magazine is TSO'd and the EAA magazine is not, yet, but they're working on it?

Note: I'm a paying member of both associations and probably always will be
 
rolivi said:
See that? Even the association for certificated aircraft costs 70% more than for experimental aircraft.

I'm sure the AOPA magazine is TSO'd and the EAA magazine is not, yet, but they're working on it?

Note: I'm a paying member of both associations and probably always will be
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Me, too. But I've not had any notices about a 40% increase in dues next year. Or any increase in dues next year
 
price increase due to a flood of lost members. go to Guide star and check them out for a non profit they are one of the biggest pigs in the pen second only to the NRA .large make work salaries for alot of people. i am so glad someone put me onto Guide Star. i checked out all the non profit outfits i was sending$$ to .i save over $1000 now and channel it to organizations that are not top heavy with pigs .
 
@hotprops - do you understand Non-profit vs Charity?

AOPA and EAA exist to advocate for the members.

They aren't saving the manatees or any charitable ****. And if they started doing that they risk losing my money. (a thought that keeps them up nights... never)
 
Rob,i was never said charity.. they all fall under similar 501 tax rules however. look up aopa as i suggested so you know what you are talking about
 
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hotprops said:
Rob,i was never said charity.. they all fall under similar 401 tax rules however. look up aopa as i suggested so you know what you are talking about
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My point is that how Advocacy groups should spend money is different than how Charitable groups should spend money. The site you referred to is more useful for deciding to give to United Way or Red Cross, but I don't think the spending analysis are useful in picking between advocacy groups.
 
Fixed cost continues to rise, membership continues to decline.. = membership dues must rise.
 
I kept the subscription for the magazine but even that has gone downhill recently, although P&P isn't far behind
 
i was just suggesting to take a look a at there, last year end financial statement. lot of people making obscene salaries and huge sums of cash in the bank
 
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Well the AOPA does some good.

I wish more of the money they get would go into the pockets of lawmakers and other government types, they are there to grease the pockets and get the rules we want passed and the ones we don't tossed.

They have dropped the ball big time on the ADSB mandate and a few other areas like the ECI situation.

I think they do good for GA, but I haven't given the any money outside of buying their insurance a couple times.

As far as prepaid legal, boy I hope you arnt putting too much faith in that, that's like 1/2 a step up from relying on POA for legal assistance.
 
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What are you talking about? The POA is just like a legal firm or AOPA offering legal assistance. You can find any opinion you want or need at both so they're equal.

Cheers
 
Last time I checked AOPA had $70M in the bank. That is many years of dues. The only possible reason for an increase is greed. There is an old aphorism: “the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.” This applies. As long as the geese are compliant, AOPA will keep raising dues regardless of need.

I dropped my membership in disgust several years ago. I ran into Baker at a meeting one time and tried to ask him about the cash hoard. He just turned on his heel and walked away. Apparently he had no way to defend it.
 
I have "insurance" through them. They're just a brokerage turns out (Old Republic is my actual insurance; God I hope if the time comes to make a claim they're not some just some rotary phone on the floor of an empty office park building in Dallas LOL), but I'm sure they get their cut. I think my membership should be complimentary as an insurance customer. I have no interest in spending a fee on top of my existing retail patronage.

I was a member of EAA for one year in order to volunteer for Young Eagles. I let it lapse after I exit stage on the whole YE thing.

I think we need advocacy in Washington, but frankly I'll probably use social media as a military pilot and be the GA-friendly squeaky wheel as an ALPA/APA/SWAPA member if I ever make a transition to airline work. I've not been impressed with the level of effective representation we've got in DC, especially when compared to the NRA. I get we're a piddly demographic, which is why I think we're best served riding the coat tails of bigger players. In our case, the flight training market is our best umbrella, as access to piston aviation is not gonna get any easier without the carve-outs GA flight training usually negotiate for themselves in order to keep pumping the entry level US commercial pilot market.
 
Been a member of AOPA since '70, EAA since '80. Overall, been worth it for both, can't see quitting now.
 
I was ok with AOPA from '74 until they featured that girl that used to be a guy in their Pilot mag, and then I get my copy of Flight Training mag and they put whatever in there too. That was it for me, bye bye. YMMV so good for you if it does.
 
To the..... ...dislikers of AOPA, gas is going up. Gonna get rid of your plane and car because someone somewhere makes a little profit?
Not trying to start an argument, just truly curious.
 
Zeldman said:
To the..... ...dislikers of AOPA, gas is going up. Gonna get rid of your plane and car because someone somewhere makes a little profit?
Not trying to start an argument, just truly curious.
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That wasn't my reason, besides the girl who was a guy, some articles were the same as Flying so I resigned.
 
Aopa is no different than any other organization,they continue to grow the bureaucracy,which takes money,it depends on what services you use ,wether it's worth it or not. I am a member of both aopa and Eaa, not sure Aopa is really interested in us little single engine piston guys.
 
frfly172 said:
Aopa is no different than any other organization,they continue to grow the bureaucracy,which takes money,it depends on what services you use ,wether it's worth it or not. I am a member of both aopa and Eaa, not sure Aopa is really interested in us little single engine piston guys.
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Beyond that, the ultimate goal of the bureaucracy is to survive in the form of good salaries at the top of the bureaucracy for as long as they can squeeze money out of the members. When their cash flow goes negative, they have $10's of millions in reserves to chew through before the act is up.
 
kyleb said:
Beyond that, the ultimate goal of the bureaucracy is to survive in the form of good salaries at the top of the bureaucracy for as long as they can squeeze money out of the members. When their cash flow goes negative, they have $10's of millions in reserves to chew through before the act is up.
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Wait...are you talking about ALPA? :eek: ;)
 
I got an offer the other day for a new member $49 fee which included the normal stuff, a headset bag and entry into a drawing to win a Bose A20 headset. I figured I could at least check it out and if I win the headset I come out way ahead.
 
hotprops said:
Rob,i was never said charity.. they all fall under similar 401 tax rules however. look up aopa as i suggested so you know what you are talking about
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You know what they say about glass houses and rocks?
 
hotprops said:
i was just suggesting to take a look a at there, last year end financial statement. lot of people making obscene salaries and huge sums of cash in the bank
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Talent costs money. And DC area COL is huge. Anyone in a for-profit of the same level would be making just as much, if not more.
 
Cykoguy said:
I got an offer the other day for a new member $49 fee which included the normal stuff, a headset bag and entry into a drawing to win a Bose A20 headset. I figured I could at least check it out and if I win the headset I come out way ahead.
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You're ahead of me! I have exactly one AOPA hat, and it's from the Project Pilot program where I mentored a coworker getting his PPL. Never got anything for renewing, maybe because I had signed up once for auto-renew?
 
airdale said:
Last time I checked AOPA had $70M in the bank. That is many years of dues. The only possible reason for an increase is greed. There is an old aphorism: “the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.” This applies. As long as the geese are compliant, AOPA will keep raising dues regardless of need.

I dropped my membership in disgust several years ago. I ran into Baker at a meeting one time and tried to ask him about the cash hoard. He just turned on his heel and walked away. Apparently he had no way to defend it.
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How much is the "hoard" compared to annual operating expenses?
 
I never received my free headset bag I was promised when I signed up. Haven't renewed since, only because I'm to lazy to actually renew.
 
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