PAPERWORK FRAGILITY
One of the hottest current government regulatory circumventions is the Private Membership Association (PMA). It's an unincorporated entity that operates outside the public sphere--at least this is the idea.
In other words, we constantly hear about the need to protect the public, but seldom about the need to protect the private. What if I want to organize a group outside the government's watchdog purview? Is that not as important an option to protect as what falls under the "public" banner?
As tyranny escalates and compliance with every regulation becomes more onerous, many people are searching for a way to escape. They're becoming "sovereign individuals" and invoking "maritime law," "natural law," and other paperwork constructs to create some kind of entity outside governmental control.
While I'm all for circumventing, those of us looking at these options need to understand their fragility. Case in point is Bear Creek Acres Dairy in Iowa. The owners have been arrested and are facing criminal charges for selling uninspected canned meat.
The Cliff's Notes particulars are these: small dairy, multi-generational, have complied with all licensing for many years to make and sell cheese and milk. Wanted to make and sell canned meat; mom went through all the government classes but they could not get a license and learned small outfits simply won't get a license.
Fed up with all the hoops, they cancelled ALL their licenses and established a Private Membership Association, where customers join the PMA in order to get product. It's a contract, or agreement, that all members (buyers) sign to join the private association. They began canning meat and going on with their dairy operation in the new regime.
A man came by the farm and asked to buy canned meat; the daughter explained the PMA to him and handed him the paperwork. A week later he came back; she wasn't there, but dad was. The man explained the daughter (mother of 6) had given him the paperwork so dad assumed it was signed and the man was a PMA member and sold him the canned meat. Immediately the father and daughter were arrested under criminal charges.
It was clearly a set-up by the government to trap them. As much as many of us yearn to sell outside government oversight, think what a PMA does: my employees are missionaries and therefore not subject to workmen's comp, withholding, social security taxes, minimum wage, etc. We are not a business and therefore are outside much if not all IRS jurisdiction. Folks, when you tell the IRS, Social Security, Fair Labor agency and every other government outfit to take a hike, they don't like it. And you'd better have every i dotted and every t crossed ad nauseum to avoid a slip-up.
At the Rogue Food Conference two years ago we had the nation's best PMA gurus on stage to discuss protocols. As much as they loved PMAs, the bottom line was "if you start a PMA, you've painted a target on your back. So you'd better do it right."
We are in a war for freedom. Liberty is under attack in our society. Those of us who think people should be left alone as long as they don't attack someone need to be strategic and judicious about how we wage our freedom war. Intentional communities that thumb their noses at building inspectors, zoning, property taxes, sewage regulations and the like need to realize how threatening and infuriating this is to bureaucrats. Yes, everything I want to do is illegal.
Which is why we must carve out exemptions. That is why I'm putting all my energy in the FOOD EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. All this PMA effort, sovereign individual, maritime law and natural law stuff would be mute if consenting adults exercising freedom of choice for their bodies' microbiome agency didn't need government permission to engage in a food transaction. For me, this is a winnable argument and if everyone who loves freedom--including the NRA, health consent, homeschoolers, and dope addicts--would sign onto this idea, we'd get way farther faster. If someone has a better idea, I'm all ears.
Can you think of a better approach?
