1. Our bylaws permit an annual draw down of 4.5% of the unrestricted funds in the Trust and Development Fund. Since this is roughly half of expected earnings from stock holdings, and a lot less than half of earnings in recent years, the draw is no threat to the principal holdings. In fact, no draw down is made at all in most years, an issue I turn to again under operations.

2. The two year decline was real, but the causal attribution–that it represented alienate members dropping out–probably was not on the mark Most of the decline can be accounted for by members moving from “regular” status into a newly created “Unemployed Members” category. The causal story here is that, confronted with a new choice between high dues and low dues, some unemployed members opted for low.