In my years of promoting my alternative democracy (the TDG), I have had a few comments that the TDG looks like an HOA.
HOA is the acronym for Home Owners Association. In some newer American neighborhoods, property developers sold their units to have some features of local self-governance, taking over some functions of traditional municipal governance. When a person buys a residence under an HOA, that person also has to accept the decisions of the HOA. It seems the intention was to move government decisions to the neighborhood level, where neighbors make the decisions close to them.
Because I have set up each local TDG to encompass about 200 residents, more than a few TDG investigators have equated the TDG with an HOA.
The HOAs have had some bad press. Some of my TDG investigators have assumed that the TDG will develop similar faults as the HOA. And that gives them the excuse to disregard the whole notion of the TDG.
In this article, I will outline the differences between the two organizations. And I will offer some predictions of future relationship between the two.
The Bad Press of the HOA
When an HOA is mentioned (by others) in my internet discussions, it is usually negative. Often the detractors will complain something like: “HOAs are run by psychopaths who enjoy making insane decisions to inflict pain on normal neighbors.”
My initial take of such comments is: “This person did not like the democratic decision made by the HOA.”
But my life experience is such that sometimes some organizations do not behave democratically. So I then wonder: “If an HOA member does not like HOA board decisions, that HOA member can run for the HOA board.” If there is a dictator mentality in any HOA, there is a democratic mechanism to remove this mentality — if there are enough members who also agree in the removal.
And then I have to ask: “Why did that person buy into the HOA when he/she believes HOAs are governed so poorly?”
The HOA detractors get a lot of press. But I suspect that many HOA members are satisfied with their self-governance. Otherwise, property values for HOA neighborhoods would be significantly less than non-HOA properties.
HOA Responsibilities
Each HOA already has civic responsibilities. Those responsibilities could be street repair, garbage pickup, or zoning rules. The HOA board will have to deal with these issues, often in liaison with the municipal authority.
Let’s assume a certain HOA has this civic responsibility: “We need to repair this street in our HOA, so we will need to raise HOA taxes for a few years to effect those repairs.”
Such an issue can divide the HOA community. Some people just don’t like increasing taxes no matter what. Other people will say: “That street doesn’t need a repair.” Other people will want an upgrade to their street if someone else gets a repair to their street.
It’s not hard to imagine some community disunity, even if the decision is carried out with due democratic process. This is when the HOA is discredited with: “My HOA is run by psychopaths who enjoy making insane decisions just to inflict pain on normal neighbors.”
It is not the HOA concept that is the problem. It is the lack of understanding of how democracy should work. Much of the western world — especially the USA — has been moving more into a mindset that those who disagree with us are fools — and we should fight like hell to prevent fools from getting their way.
In other words, some HOA members have lost respect for democratic processes. If this attitude is taken into the TDG, the TDG will never work.
TDG Responsibilities
The TDG does not start with big responsibilities. It is focused on self-governance — and acquiring some important skills for future TDG governance.
I have given the early TDG builders the task of writing its own local TDG constitution. This constitution will require about 40 clauses that need discussion and a decision. Here are three questions that will frame some of those clauses:
1. When should the TDG have its annual election?
2. What constitutes proper notice for a vote of TDG affairs?
3. Should amending the TDG constitution require a simple majority or a super majority?
As the early TDG builders are building their constitution, each clause will not be a life-or-death issue or a sky-is-falling situation. That takes a lot of edge off any discussion as the early TDG builders learn how to find the TDG way.
For example, the majority of TDG builders want April for the elections and a minority want May. Both sides can openly state their reasons for their preference. Maybe there is something in the May side that allows the April side to see a new angle. Maybe the May side will understand the April side has good reasons for its preference. Both sides should realize that neither April nor May is that big of a deal. If consensus is not reached and a majority vote is required, the minority should not have bruised feelings if its ways are not implemented. The TDG builders can move to writing the next clause.
And maybe as other clauses are being developed, it might become apparent later that May is the better month for the election.
In time, builders will learn new ways. Each clause should have lots of open discussion. As the discussion unfolds, a consensus should be forming. It would be better for the minority to yield to that consensus rather than insisting that their way is the only way. With more practice in writing TDG clauses, TDG builders will realize that innovative solutions come from a consultative approach, rather than forcing their vision on everyone else.
Let me say this in a different way: TDG constitutional clauses are easier for the TDG builders to acquire TDG skills than by dealing with street repairs.
When the TDG matures in its consultation skills, it will gain the ability to handle street repairs better than the HOA.
TDG/HOA Relationship
Most HOAs will form a natural boundary to delineate a local TDG. We should not be surprised they encompass the same area.
Because the TDG will gain advanced decision-making skills, it may later be able to find solutions the HOA cannot find. When that time comes, the TDG could advise the HOA on what it thinks the HOA should do. The HOA may or may not take this advice.
Some residents may be on both the TDG executive committee and on the HOA board. These residents can bring their TDG decision-making skills into the HOA.
It may seem natural that the local TDG and HOA should become one legal entity. If so, this new entity should assume the electoral rules of the TDG, not the HOA. The electoral rules of the TDG are necessary for a consultative culture. These rules are considerably different than usual non-profit or society rules of the HOAs.
If the TDG and HOA are merged, then the local TDG will be responsible for continued building of the TDG as well as the jurisdiction of the HOA. Dealing with HOA issues will be good practice for higher level issues later.
Conclusion
I like the idea that local people need to solve local problems. So the concept of the HOA serves a good purpose. When citizens become involved in local projects (like street repairs) they will understand that governance is more complex than spouting off opinion, taking a vote, and complaining when the vote doesn’t go their way. This local understanding will improve our understanding of how higher-level government functions.
But for the HOA to work, there needs to be a respect for traditional democratic processes. We already have the tools in place — if we want to use them.
For the TDG to work, we need to develop higher level democratic principles. Those tools we need to learn.
Published on Medium 2023
"New World Coming" that we cannot see
