Gold Party’s point structure

(a) 1 point for basic membership. This requires that a person fill out and sign a membership form and pay annual dues of at least 1 cent.

(b) extra points for paying a larger amount of annual dues

1 point for annual dues of $10.00 or more
2 points for annual dues of $100.00 or more
3 points for annual dues of $1,000.00 or more.

(c) extra points for Occupy Wall Street activity or related event in another city:

1 point for joining Gold Party at an Occupy Wall Street site
2 points for joining Gold Party and having regular presence at Occupy Wall Street site
3 points for being Gold Party coordinator at Occupy Wall Street site

(d) 1 extra point for renewing Gold Party membership when one was a member in the previous year.

(e) 1 extra point for signing up another person to become a member of Gold Party. To qualify, one must supervise the process of filling out the application and accepting dues and forward the completed application and dues to Gold Party headquarters.

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Notes:

The points are calculated individually at least once a year. For example, a member who paid annual dues of $10.00, joined while at an Occupy Wall Street site, and signed up two other members would have five points - 1 (a) + 1 (b) +1 (c) + 2 (e).

Some points are permanent. Others change each year. One must, of course, be a member to have any points in a year. With respect to dues payment, the single point is received if a member pays $10.00 in the current year. If the member pays $100, he or she receives two extra points in each of the next three years. If the member pays $1,000.00, the three extra points are a lifetime award.

The extra points for Occupy Wall Street are a lifetime award except that the three points for being a site coordinator go with the incumbent in that position. The site coordinator decides which members have had a “regular” or frequent presence at the site and therefore receive two points. Someone who has spent at least three nights at the site automatically qualifies. When the site coordinator hands the position to someone else, he or she then has two points.

The point for membership renewals depends on whether or not one was a member in the preceding year. If so, he or she receives the point. There is no extra point for the first year’s membership or where a member renews after not being a member in the previous year.

The greatest opportunity for gaining extra points lies in signing up new members. The requirement is to persuade people to fill out and sign the membership application and send the signed form plus membership dues to Gold Party headquarters. The recruiter would have an extra point for that person for at least a year.

The rule is that, after the first year, the recruited person can decide to bestow the extra point on any other member (not necessarily the same person who recruited him or her). That decision is made at the time of the annual renewal. If no decision is made, the extra point remains with the person designated in the previous year.

Gold Party headquarters will tabulate the points for each member and, on its website, list the members in descending order of points. The purpose is to create an incentive to grow the party and recognize those individuals who have done the most to achieve that end.

As Gold Party grows, it will move into a second phase related to political organization. Members will organize themselves into local chapters, elect chapter leaders, discuss issues, etc. The voting will follow the point system. For instance, a member with one point would have one vote in all party decisions; a member with five points would have five votes. In this phase, party members might decide to change the point system in some respect.

At a certain point, Gold Party will move into a third phase when it gets serious about electoral politics and tries to take over the government.     

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