NRA numbers trivia

[largom]

I was an NRA member once 11 years ago. I did not renew my membership because they (in my opinion) spent WAY to much of my money on TRYING TO GET MORE MONEY OUT OF ME rather than actually fighting for second amendment rights. I started getting renewal notices 4 months into my 1 year membership. I wonder what percentage of the moneys they receive every year actually go to fighting for our rights and how much is spent on just keeping the money machine running? All those glossy mailings are not free.

I get the same notices from the gun Mags. I subscribe to but I continue to subscribe. How often does the collection plate pass around at church? It is all part of the process. The NRA gets the bulk of it's money from the advertisers in their mags. The more members the more magazines and the more exposure the advertisers have which sets the rate for ad costs. Your dues will not cover the costs of receiving the magazine. Plus if you renew way in advance that money can draw interest in their bank before it is applied to your membership.

As others have said, the NRA is not perfect, but it's the best protection we have for our rights. If you disagree with some of their decisions TELL THEM. As a member you have a voice, USE IT. The biggest problem for gun owners is the fact that the majority DO NOTHING. They don't join the NRA , they don't write their congress reps., they do nothing but complain.

Numbers count in D.C. and the NRA needs our numbers!

Larry

[Ricochet]

How much money do you think they would get if they didn't send out those things? Did you wake up this morning and think, "Hmmm, I think I'll send some money to the NRA?" (OR GOA, or whoever you like) It takes money to influence politics. Takes money for everything else the NRA does for us, too.

[MT Gianni]

Actual member #s of voting adults is what impresses politicians. It may be the number that is as important as the money. If it were free to sign up, it would not be as important to the politico's as dues paying. They know how hard fundraising is.

[buck1]

GOA and the other RKBA groups haven't accomplished a thing. The NRA's not perfect, but if we don't support it, nobody effectively speaks for us. Sniping at the NRA helps no one, except the antis.

Well said

[montana_charlie]

Personally I think it's a dereliction of duty for a gun owner not to belong the NRA. It's alright though since I'm getting pretty used to my money being used to support other people. What I can't seem to get used to is that for the most part the people with the biggest complaints are the one's that don't belong.

Picture the NRA as a leaking ship on a rough sea. It is carrying all gun owners, but only 2% are doing the bailing that keeps the ship afloat.

Those who are just along for the ride spend a lot of time complaining about wet feet, and that causes some of the bailers to start looking for a better boat to switch to.

The other boats aren't big enough to hold everybody, and they don't have engines big enough to plow through the kind of wind and waves that surround them. They are only able to stay afloat because they can drift along in the wake of the NRA ship.

If you aren't willing to bail, stay out of the way of those who are...or try swimming.

CM

[DevilDog83]

Excellent analogy, Montana Charlie

[mike in co]

Picture the NRA as a leaking ship on a rough sea. It is carrying all gun owners, but only 2% are doing the bailing that keeps the ship afloat.

Those who are just along for the ride spend a lot of time complaining about wet feet, and that causes some of the bailers to start looking for a better boat to switch to.

The other boats aren't big enough to hold everybody, and they don't have engines big enough to plow through the kind of wind and waves that surround them. They are only able to stay afloat because they can drift along in the wake of the NRA ship.

If you aren't willing to bail, stay out of the way of those who are...or try swimming.

CM

the problem is...IT AINT THAT SIMPLE.

they fleece thier members with things that support outside businesses in the name of the nra, but furnish little funds to the nra.

as long as you insist its the only boat, there is no reason to fix the leaks...cause the members keep on bailing......even after they have spent millions on pumps that dont work....cause they were a compromise design.......

why not just get a better boat..or fix the one you have .....cause i'm too busy bailing!!!!!

mike in co

[Recluse]

the problem is...IT AINT THAT SIMPLE.

they fleece thier members with things that support outside businesses in the name of the nra, but furnish little funds to the nra.

Examples?

as long as you insist its the only boat, there is no reason to fix the leaks...cause the members keep on bailing......even after they have spent millions on pumps that dont work....cause they were a compromise design.......

mike in co

I am firmly convinced that those who incessantly whine about the "compromises" are little more than mental midgets whose understanding of how the political machine operates is on par with Al Gore's understanding on how climatology actually works.

300 million or so citizens in the U.S. 40% are liberal, 40% are conservative and 20% are the swing-voters.

40% of 300 million is 120 million. Liberals, as we know, raise all kinds of hell and make their voices heard. Conservatives, as we know, are masters of political combat so long as it is on closed internet forums and blogs such as this one.

NRA membership is 4 million. 120 million liberals who think the Second Amendment should be hugely restricted, if not outright abolished. They go about it in bits and chunks, and they have a vocal, voting constituency to give them some real clout.

Conversely, I'd dare say that even half of the NRA's membership is content to simply pay their $35 annual dues, and then sit back and bitch that the NRA doesn't do enough. That group doesn't call their elected officals, doesn't write them, sure as hell doesn't send money to ILA, and what's more, doesn't even put the little NRA sticker on their car or wear the NRA hat!

Now, compare the two sides. . . If you honestly think that a ******* Larry Platt "By God NO COMPROMISE, PERIOD!" stance will work on every single 2A issue, then I've got one helluva presidential candidate for you to support in 2012--He's a Muslim from Chicago, who. . . . wait, he's already president.

Again, we--as gun owners--are our own worst enemy.

[38 Super Auto]

Personally I think it's a dereliction of duty for a gun owner not to belong the NRA.

I agree and I'll go one further: it is a dereliction of one's duty to not become and remain informed on all issues that affect us. As a citizen, WE are the owners of the country and our legislators should not pass any bills and the president should not sign any bills into laws WITHOUT the consent of the governed. That's us - you and me.

So....

Does it work this way? Why not? Because people are too selfish with their time & money, AND lazy - preferring to sit and let others provide for them

How did government become SO large over the last 100 or so years?

How did obama get elected?

Why is it so easy to get govt. aid when there are jobs available (fewer currently) and the person is able bodied?

Why don't all voters contact their congressmen, and senators. Your voice is amplified when you do, because so few citizens take 10 minutes and call, e-mail, or write their elected leaders.

We get exactly the amount and type of government that we tolerate.

Remember also that the bottom 50% of federal taxpayers only carry 3% of the tax burden, so many people are voting for leaders - and hence programs (handouts) that will benefit them without the distasteful requirement of having to PAY for them.

Do we live in a democratic republic anymore or it it morphing into direct democracy? (hint consider the 16th Amendment to The Constitution and the present top-loaded federal income tax code and the answer will become clear)

[dualsport]

Pat nailed it. If you don't belong to the NRA you are a freeloader, deadweight. You can fix that real fast. United we stand, divided we fall. Remember that? You wouldn't even have a gun if it weren't for the NRA. The NRA is us.

[mike in co]

[QUOTE=38 Super Auto;728182]


Remember also that the bottom 50% of federal taxpayers only carry 3% of the tax burden, QUOTE]

SHOW ME SOME PROOF of this statement.


mike in co

[MtGun44]

Can't join our range if you aren't an NRA member and you have to prove
it again every year. I've done a lot on the legislative side for gun owners
over the years, worked directly writing some bills, changing others and
seen how it works from the inside. The NRA is imperfect and irks me to no
end some days. HOWEVER, they are the big dog and have helped us a
whole lot in Kansas over the years. We need more NRA members and
we also need GOA holding down the far right, too. Having the GOA out
there keeps everybody honest and helps provide a fulcrum for the NRA
to leverage off of.

The good news is that we are, very slowly, winning the hearts and minds of
the US population on the 2nd Amendment and gun control. I have always
known that concealed carry had two real reasons that it was important. First,
the obvious fact that a few good guys will shoot or deter some bad guys and
the world will be a better place for it. DUH! Second is far less obvious, but
perhaps more important in the longer run. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary
folks are getting permits and carrying guns. Their friends and relatives know
about it and know that they are nice, normal folks that do not break the law.
Over time we make non-shooters comfortable with the fact that normal folks
carrying around a gun is not a bad thing, and may even be a good thing. This
is a very novel idea to a lot of people and is being steadily reinforced in ~47 states every single
day. Also, we are building an unassailable statistical data base of facts that
good folks DO NOT go off their nut suddenly one day and do bad stuff. Your
neighbor CAN be trusted 99.9999% of the time to be a good guy.

Bill

[Mallard57]

Say what you want but, when the antigunners complain it's about the NRA. Do I like everything they do, no. We better learn to find some common ground between gun owners or we will surely lose everything.
Jeff

[Recluse]

[QUOTE=mike in co;728214]

Remember also that the bottom 50% of federal taxpayers only carry 3% of the tax burden, QUOTE]

SHOW ME SOME PROOF of this statement.


mike in co

I'm still waiting on proof of YOUR statement about NRA's outside business interests that "fleeces" our money away. . .

But if you want proof of the taxpayer statement, look no further than the NTU (National Taxpayers Union) and their break down via IRS figures:

Who Pays Income Taxes? See Who Pays What

For Tax Year 2007

Percentiles Ranked by AGI

AGI Threshold on Percentiles

Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid by Income Bracket

Top 1% $410,096 40.42% of all taxes paid

Top 5% $160,041 60.63% of all taxes paid

Top 10% $113,018 71.22% of all taxes paid

Top 25% $66,532 86.59% of all taxes paid

Top 50% $32,879 97.11% of all taxes paid

Bottom 50% <$32,879 and below 2.89% of all taxes paid

Source: http://www.ntu.org/main/page.php?PageID=6

[Buckshot]

..............The reason the NRA doesn't have 100 million members is because 95% of that number doesn't think about it much, they're upset because of the begging letters (It ain't funded by the government), they think the NRA is topheavy, they back down or compromise too much, or probably most likely is they're just plain APATHETIC. Too much football, baseball, basketball, Nascar, or other media dreck to eat up their time and resourses. Heck, it'd be nice if all HUNTERS would join let alone all gun owners.

The exact same was brilliantly and sharply illustrated to me very recently. Our state Assemblyman, Bill Emmerson cannot run again in -'10 due to term limits. He's a great conservative both socially and fiscally. A staunch supported of our gunrights. The mayor of a local city is going to be running for his seat, and I got a postcard about a townhall type meeting (one of many, but this one was local) in a couple weeks. The postcard said he was going to introduce himself and then take questions.

In case you didn't know, the liberals that have been elected to the state Senate and Assembly for the past 20 years (and have been in the majority) have flatly bankrupted California. The new candidate is a businessman. A physician who owns a couple urgent care clinics, come to find out. There at the meeting besides him was his wife, his campaign chairperson and another friend of his was me, and 5 others. FIVE PEOPLE! I'll bet a dollar they mailed out maybe 100 postcards or more. Out of all those postcards 6 of us could miss our favorite TV show (I don't have any) to find out about this guy. No wonder this freaking state is run by idiots and morons.

Ditto the federal government, and I'm not lamenting McCain's loseing as he was as big a buffoon as the current occupant. But with the dire straits this state is in, and with the elections a year away you'd sure think that more then 6 people would have shown up. It's no wonder to me that the NRA only has 4 million members. In fact if it wasn't for some parents buying memberships for their kids there'd probably be a million less.

People had REALLY better get with the program and start paying attention to what's being done TO them in their name, and support those who are trying to straighten it out.

..............Buckshot

[Lunk]

I would like to amend my earlier comments. 11 years ago I was much younger and allot dumber and I was quite upset at what I saw as a waste of my money trying to get more out of me. I did not re-up after that first year because I thought the volume of mail they sent me was a waste of my dollars. After reading many of your comments on the subject I went and did some digging to see what the actual financial landscape was for the NRA. Frankly I was shocked. Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of there income (near as I can figure) comes from membership dues and donations. The rest of the $350+ million they take in every year comes from advertising and merchandise. They claim to have 500 employees and giving them a generous annual salary means they have an annual payroll of under $25 million. I imagine they spend twice that on mailings to members (magazines, renewals, begging for cash etc) and some several tens of millions per year on shooting club projects and I would hope several millions on youth courses etc. This still leaves something like $200 million per year that they can (and do) use to help fight for second amendment rights. This is quite allot. I garnered from these numbers that the annual dues mean far LESS to them per se than the mere fact that as a member you are willing to part with your hard earned money to help add to there voice. I would imagine if membership was free they would have 30-40 million members and it would mean far less as a lobbying tool because people did not have to do anything to join.
That being said I believe that I'm going to join up again.

[TDC]

I don't believe many gun owners or even NRA members understand and can identify the methodology and real basic intention of the anti-gun leftists.

Dealing with such a powerful and committed group of purposeful anti-free enterprise and anti-capitalistic Marxists is a challenge that obviously has destroyed many democratic governments, let alone organizations as small as the NRA. As we have so often observed, these USA Marxists will use any method, say anything, distort anything, misinterpret anything, lie, cheat and steal anything for their causes. They feel perfectly justified and show absolutely no remorse because it's "for their cause.."

These very intelligent and committed people are the adversaries the NRA is dealing with on a daily basis right here in the good ol' USA. We know after the last election well over half our national legislators support or willingly accommodate them and their goals. Anyone at this point who doesn't realize our major network and print press has long been a propaganda arm of the radical left, as well as for full blown Marxist's, hasn't been paying attention for a long time. Many of the perceptions and impressions we have of the NRA have filtered through these same news organizations and anti-gun ownership news presenters for many, many years..

These leftists are expert at and deeply committed to all the concepts that will take us to a world socialistic system that they believe they and their "superior" ilk will naturally administer. We have only to study the progression of Marxism in Eastern Europe to understand the traditional methods they use in achieving their goal..

It is extremely important to them that they destroy the economies of the countries whose citizens would commonly oppose their political and economic concepts. We are seeing that happen in this country right now!! Of course, they believe it's also necessary to disarm any and all citizens who might oppose and resist their desire to "make all our social, economic and educational decisions for us." We are seeing a subtle but unprecedented attempt for those "fundamental changes" occurring right now!!

Divide and conquer is their initial "modus operandi." Unfortunately, we're seeing this kind of negative momentum expressed frequently on rather obscure communication links and internet threads just like this one. The lefts quest to rile us and divide us through class warfare, race warfare, economic warfare is clearly succeeding. We can see it, feel it, hear it and read it everywhere now and this thread is no exception.

We've really got to try to stick together and not let many unsupported observations or assumptions divide us, folks. Our gun ownership and basic freedoms have never been so effectively threatened before. I believe those of us who want those freedoms protected are now frightfully in the minority. We are just one Supreme Court Justice away from the radical left achieving every program they've ever dreamed of. God help us if that happens...

JMHO

[dualsport]

Good for you Lunk. Our strength is in numbers. The NRA has room for improvement, but it's by far the best tool we have.

[jnovotny]

I want to challenge every one of you Life memebers to paying a yearly subscription fee for your magazine. That way they will send me less stuff in the mail begging for money. And also if you don't belong to the NRA then join or keep your 2 cents to yourself. Not ment to offend anyone but if the shoe fits, wear it.

[mike in co]

[QUOTE=Recluse;728324]

I'm still waiting on proof of YOUR statement about NRA's outside business interests that "fleeces" our money away. . .

But if you want proof of the taxpayer statement, look no further than the NTU (National Taxpayers Union) and their break down via IRS figures:

Who Pays Income Taxes? See Who Pays What

For Tax Year 2007

Percentiles Ranked by AGI

AGI Threshold on Percentiles

Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid by Income Bracket

Top 1% $410,096 40.42% of all taxes paid

Top 5% $160,041 60.63% of all taxes paid

Top 10% $113,018 71.22% of all taxes paid

Top 25% $66,532 86.59% of all taxes paid

Top 50% $32,879 97.11% of all taxes paid

Bottom 50% <$32,879 and below 2.89% of all taxes paid

Source: http://www.ntu.org/main/page.php?PageID=6

i'll look later today, thanks for the link.
now here is my question......
50%(of what?) make less than $33, 000 per year ????
that number seems strange to me...

the inverse is that less than 10% of us tax payers are paying over 60% of all taxes ?

what % of the us budget is funded by ipersonal ncome tax ?
look over the years how this has moved slowly to mostly income tax and less on other taxes.


talk about it later
thanks
mike in co