Cohousing-L Mailing List: non-participating households

[David Mandel (dlmandel]

I guess I'm one of the "vocal minority" Liz referred to (though we never
took a vote or other count) who opposed the system by which people who
work less pay more. There were lots of reasons, but the central one
(hey, it's late) was that we don't like setting up a situation in which
the "choice" between working more and paying more is a real choice for
those who can afford to pay more but not for those who can't. We didn't
want to encourage creation of a two-tier society where some pay more to
have others work more. Ours is a particularly mixed-income community,
but I think the principle applies generally.
    Of course it's not so simple, because no matter what you do, some
are going to work more than others, in many instances for reasons that
are completely understandable. The alternative approach, however, is to
1) come to a community consensus on the minimum expectation from
everyone; 2) give lots of good strokes to people who exceed it. 3)
finance the costs of what the community can't do with a progressive
system in which those who can afford more pay a bit more -- just don't
tie it to how much those same people are working.
    That's what we're trying now, and I think a lot of us like it
better, in theory, anyway. We'll see whether the cynics are correct in
predicting a lot less participation when there are no immediate,
personal financial consequences.
David Mandel, Southside Park