There's a lot of chatter in this group on USCF dues. In my opinion the
$49/yr comes down to one issue: Is playing chess worth $49 to you?

In return for $49 per year USCF permits you to play in rated tournaments,
sends you a (crummy) magazine, and half-assedly supports US Chess. For me
the big benefit is the rated tournament games, of which I play about 60 per
year. I would love a more timely, expertly written magazine. I would love to
have helped cultivate half a dozen US-born world-class players. For now
that's not meant to be. We can continue to criticize, suggest, and volunteer
towards making the federation better, but the bottom line is: do you want to
play chess or not?

In my opinion what USCF actually spends the money on, how it wastes or
invests it, is a completely separate issue to the priviledge of playing in
rated events. When my dues are up I ask myself one question only: Is it
worth $49 to play in rated tournaments?

All you guys who bitch and moan about the dues cannot possibly be serious
about chess, which is ok. My wife would not pay 49 cents for USCF
membership, and I respect that. I would not pay a cent to join the U.S.
Tulip Breeder's Association (if one exists). Because I have no interest in
tulips, I also have no interest whatsoever in the association's dues. They
could be $4/yr or $400/yr, and it wouldn't matter to me because I'm not
interested. If I were interested and valued what the association returned to
me, maybe $400/yr would not be high.

I'm sure there's a price point above which USCF membership would not be
worthwhile for me either, but I assure you that it's a lot higher than $49
because I love chess. I love to play. I love to read about it. I love to
hang out with chess players and shoot the ****. Please don't come back with
"you must have an empty life." I'm married with three young kids, and I work
50-60 hours per week on my business.

I'm not a wealthy guy by any means. Nevertheless, I cannot understand
griping about $49. The non-member gripers posting to this newsgroup suggest
they would rejoin USCF were it not for their resentment over the
federation's wastefulness, as reflected in the high dues. To them I say:
BULL****. What they're really saying, what they really mean, is: "playing
rated chess games is not worth $49/yr to me." Which as I said is ok. Most
people feel the same way. Unlike the dues gripers, however, most don't post
to this newsgroup or pretend to be interested in chess.

The dues gripers remind me of a quote by Oscar Wild's character, Lord
Darlington, who described a cynic as "a man who knows the price of
everything but the value of nothing." Surely, among those gripers earning
more than subsistance wage (and I wonder sometimes if there are any), it
strains credulity to think they do not gladly spend $49 on more frivolous
activities than chess nearly every day of their miserly, wretched existence.
Just look around you, and tell me what $49 buys these days.

To the other dues gripers, those who remain members, I suggest the
following. Let's first fix USCF, and worry about the $49 adult dues later.
To me the federation's survival and financial health is more important than
saving $8 or $11 on my dues. If you love chess you should feel the same way.

The reason dues were raised is because USCF is in financial trouble due to
years of mismanagement. There's no ulterior motive, no secret funneling of
$$ to "big organizers" or anyone else. You "conspiracy guys" are
particularly troubling because not only do you not understand simple
economics, but you're trying to blame the only people in this country who
have actually turned chess into a successful venture.

USCF's finances would be easier to fathom if someone had actually stolen a
couple of million and deposited it into a bank account in Argentina. But
alas, it's basically nickel and dime stuff, adding up at both the revenue
and expense end.

I can anticipate the majority responses to this last statement from the
nickel-and-dime-minded morons among you: "It's not nickel and dime stuff!!!
They spent $800 on meals during the US Open!!!" "So-and-so flew business
class THREE TIMES in THREE YEARS" "So-and-so shared his french fries with
his girlfriend during the board meeting!!!"

Blah blah blah, crawl back into your cardboard boxes, back into the 1940s.

Angelo DePalma