Full Disclosure #1: I am an ARRL Life Member. I became a Life Member in 2001 just before an impending dues increase. At that time, the ARRL set the Life Membership fee at 25 times the current annual membership fee. In 3 more years, my return on investment will have zeroed out and I will have been unaffected by three dues increases.
Full Disclosure #2: I am an elected ARRL Section Manager. That means I am responsible for implementing the ARRL field programs in my section (Indiana). It also means that I am responsible for "waving the ARRL flag" in my section. I mostly do that by attending hamfests in Indiana and setting up an ARRL table so that folks know the ARRL is still around. I've been to 6 hamfests so far this year and will probably attend 6 more this year. I also maintain the section website and publish a weekly and a monthly newsletter for the members.
Full Disclosure #3: I'm not happy about the dues increase. I participated in the member survey earlier this year, but the organization went in a direction that I would not have chosen.
Now, let me address some comments that have been made:
The recent FCC NPRM would codify in the rules that which is already being done on an experimental basis. IOW, market trading via HF is already happening.
OTOH, the railroads took that 2 MHz slice of spectrum where amateur radio had a secondary allocation and are now using it for Positive Train Control which is supposed to keep trains from running into each other which some might say is a good thing.
So, now you can use the money that the ARRL will want to subscribe to QST and subscribe to QEX instead. QEX is wall to wall technical articles. Or, you can save your money and read QEX online.
Parks on the Air is not an ARRL activity. POTA is organized by a different group.
The email addresses and phone numbers of every ARRL Division Director and Section Manager are published in QST. As a Section Manager, I routinely get phone calls or emails from hams who have a problem that they think I can solve. I answer their phone calls and emails and try to deal with the problem as best I can.
By comparison, I used to be a very active member, official, and director of the Sports Car Club of America. Their dues are currently $80/year and you have to pay another $10-25/year in local chapter dues. If you are a pilot and want to join AOPA, their dues are $89/year. If you are a golfer and want to join the USGA, that'll cost $36/year. If you are a fisherman and want to join B.A.S.S., that's $15/year.
It's notable, that in order to participate at an autocross or rally, or to fly an airplane, or to golf, or to fish, or to get on the air with amateur radio, you don't have to be a member of any of those organizations.
There was an ARRL Board of Directors meeting last weekend. (Directors are elected by the membership.) The dues increase passed 12 to 3. From what I understand, most of the directors were OK with the $10 dues increase, but many of them were not OK with separating the QST subscription from the membership dues. Frankly, I tend to agree with this sentiment. OTOH, if you don't want the printed QST, which many people have apparently said they don't want, you don't have to pay the extra $25 and new annual dues are $59/year.
LotW is more of a benefit for DXers than contesters, I think. Guys who are chasing DX contacts, VHF/UHF Grids, etc., get a lot of benefit from confirming contacts in LotW rather than having to collect QSL cards and get them checked. And, while it's not mandatory, should those who "care for" LotW support it?
Most of the contests you hear on the air are not sponsored by the ARRL, but by other organizations. The ARRL sponsors 6 HF contests per year.
