Tag: tribalism

What does “HOA” really mean?

What are we talking about when we hear “I live in an HOA” or “what are my HOA fees?” Allow me to clarify some important concepts and definitions that I have employed to help in understanding what we are really talking about.

  • The term “HOA” is commonly used in 2 different aspects.
    • While commonly used to refer to the alleged community, in reality the “community” is a real estate “package” of homes, landscaping, amenities, and rules.
    • “HOA” more aptly applies to the association itself, which is the de facto – in fact – political governing body of the subdivision or real estate “package.”
  • “Government,” meaning political government, is defined in its general sense as “the person or group that controls and regulates the people within a territory.” Since your subdivision is a territory, that makes the HOA a truly political government.
  • “Private government” is a de facto government as defined above not incorporated under municipal statutes but under nonprofit corporation statutes. As such, it is a functioning government unrecognized by the state as Cuba had been for years.
  • “Quasi-government” simply means for all intents and purposes having all the attributes of a municipal government, except the names have been changed to mislead the innocent public.
  • “HOA-Land” is my descriptive term for “the collection of fragmented independent principalities within America, known in general as “HOAs,” that are separate local private governments not subject to the constitution, and that collectively constitute a nation within the United States.”
  • “Structured tribalism.” Tribalism is a term currently in vogue to describe divisiveness in America. “Structured tribalism” extends that view to describe the intentionally planned policy for the acceptance and control of HOA-Land.[1] It views the fragmented HOA-Land as distinct villages and clans.

When I speak of restructuring the HOA, I am referring to the authoritarian, undemocratic body functioning outside of constitutional protections, and making it a democratic government subject to homeowner constitutional protections.

HOA political dynamics: totalitarian democracy

HOA political dynamics: authoritarianism & totalitarian democracy

First, allow me to clarify some important concepts and definitions that I have employed to help in understanding my positions and views.

  1. The term “HOA” is commonly used in 2 different aspects. While commonly used to refer to the alleged community, in reality the “community” is a real estate “package” of homes, landscaping, amenities, and rules.
  2. “HOA” more aptly applies to the association itself, which is the de facto – in fact – political governing body of the subdivision or real estate “package.”
  3. “Government,” meaning political government, is defined in its general sense as “the person or group that controls and regulates the people within a territory.” Since your subdivision is a territory, that makes the HOA a truly political government.
  4. “Private government” is a de facto government as defined above not incorporated under municipal statutes but under nonprofit corporation statutes. As such, it is a functioning government unrecognized by the state as Cuba had been for years.
  5. “Quasi-government” simply means for all intents and purposes having all the attributes of a municipal government, except the names have been changed to mislead the innocent public.
  6. “HOA-Land” is my descriptive term for “the collection of fragmented independent principalities within America, known in general as “HOAs,” that are separate local private governments not subject to the constitution, and that collectively constitute a nation within the United States.”
  7. “Structured tribalism.” Tribalism is a term currently in vogue to describe divisiveness in America. “Structured tribalism” extends that view to describe the intentionally planned policy for the acceptance and control of HOA-Land.[1] It views the fragmented HOA-Land as distinct villages and clans.

While the CC&Rs and declarations contain abundant boiler plate, each is a separate legal agreement and as such  the HOA can be viewed as a village.  The conglomeration of master planned communities or HOAs developed by the same developer can be seen as a clan.  All stemming from the HOA “bible,” the 1964 Homes Association Handbook.[2]

In an earlier editorial on civic responsibility,[3] I questioned the allegiance, the loyalty, and the obligations of HOA members.  Was it to the US Constitution or to the HOA “constitution,” the governing documents?  I answered that it appeared to be the HOA first and foremost – secessionist — creating division within the country.

This was followed up by the editorials[4] where I examined the attitudes, beliefs, and values of the HOA members themselves.  I focused on the aspect of long-term indoctrination by the HOA School of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, my categorization. The question yet to be addressed was: What role did the members play themselves in terms of a predisposition to accept authoritarian, private governance?

By serendipity, or by destiny, I just received an email discussing authoritarianism and totalitarian democracy.[5] It argued that Americans were accepting authoritarian control, which seemed  to be a cause for the behavior of cult-like, dogmatic member acceptance of the HOA board’s (BOD) actions and attitudes.  It seems that the more predisposed to authoritarian control the more the member acted as a diehard, dogmatic, true-believer in the BOD.

“There are a lot of Americans who do not care for democracy. They do not mind [failing] to follow the Constitution, or that [it] poses a danger to democracy.

“These “authoritarian followers,” as social science labels them, are also highly ethnocentric, thus frequently racist, nationalistic, deeply partisan, and threatened by “the other.” . . . Other testing shows these people are also highly defensive.”

The HOA legal structure and scheme is basically authoritarian in nature: strong central power, limited political freedoms, no accountability, and under the rule of man, not law.[6] The authoritarian nature of HOA-Land is masked by a thorough indoctrination[7] that the real estate subdivision is a democratic community (although the HOA is not a municipal entity but a private nonprofit association)  because the members are allowed to vote, as meaningless as it is.

But the HOA is truly a totalitarian democracy.  To paraphrase the founder of fascism, Benito Mussolini, “All within the HOA, nothing outside the HOA, nothing against the HOA.”   The marketing and promotion of the HOA model of governance has been conducted in a very smooth manner: no negatives, “carefree living,” playing to the emotions and desires of the members, misleading statements to induce buying, and empty promises of “maintaining property values, ”etc.

Here’s are some of J. L. Talmon’s views of totalitarian democracy as found on Wikipedia (my emphasis):

“A totalitarian democratic state is said to maximize its control over the lives of its citizens by using the dual rationale of general will (i.e., “public good”) and majority rule. An argument can be made that in some circumstances it is actually the political, economic, and military élite who interpret the general will to suit their own interests.

“A totalitarian democracy . . . retains full power of . . .  the right of control over everything and everyone. Maintenance of such power, in the absence of full support of the citizenry, requires the forceful suppression of any dissenting element except what the government purposely permits or organizes

“It is [the member’s] duty and responsibility to aid his compatriots in realizing [this right of control]. Moreover, any public or private activities that do not forward this goal have no useful purpose. Citizens of a totalitarian democratic state, even when aware of their true powerlessness, may support their government.” 

Getting back to HOA-Land, it becomes disturbing that the application of authoritarianism and totalitarian democracy philosophy seems to fit quite well. Too well at that!  But these views of HOA-Land are a valuable enlightenment because it takes HOA-Land out of the hands of the propagandists, out of the shadows, out of the darkness of Plato’s cave.[8]  It reveals reality.

 

References

[1] “In short, CAI has been setting itself up as the national private authority, a sort of Board of National HOA Governors,”  CAI manifesto: CAI’s plan for HOA-Land in America, 2016.

[2] See my 2006,  Analysis of The Homes Association Handbook.

[3] Civic responsibility vs. HOA member responsibility.

[4] HOA social dynamics.

[5] Verdict” email from Justia.

[6] “Authoritarian” can be defined as “a form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedoms. Individual freedoms are subordinate to the state and there is no constitutional accountability and rule of law under an authoritarian regime.” Wikipedia.

[7] Supra n. 2.

[8] “In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato distinguishes between people who mistake sensory knowledge for the truth and people who really do see the truth.” (See Philosophyzer).

Sun City HOA: a real independent principality

Sun City, AZ. a renowned retirement community, is an unincorporated town under the governance of the Sun City HOA (SCHOA).  It does not qualify as a planned community or as an HOA under the state’s statutes. SCHOA is a private nonprofit corporation — no mayor & no town council, governs it.  A sort of a throw back to the times when the sovereign, the king, issued charters or grants of authority to private organizations to conduct business or to govern new lands.

In modern times, does the nonprofit corporation charter by the state, the new “sovereign” of a republic, truly grant a nonprofit corporation the right to function as the legitimate government of a sub-division of the state?  This could not possibly the intent of the corporation statutes since the state abounds with municipal corporation statutes — cities, towns, special districts, etc. — and with methods and procedures for incorporating new towns and cities.  The appeal of direct democracy, local government control or “home rule” is understood, and agreeing to be governed by a business form of government under corporate laws could be viewed as a strong desire for independence from unwanted influences and intrusions.

Sun City is indeed such an independent government, not answerable under state municipality laws or the Constitution, as it is not subject to the planned communities statutes. Sun City is just subject to the broader corporation statutes that were in no way written to establish a democratic form of political government.  This sort of independent principality status has more in common with a tribal society where the inhabitants of the village are loyal first and foremost to their tribe and village, and to the leaders of the tribe, than to their state or country.

This tribalism reveals itself as the Sun City HOA does not require mandatory assessments, yet each deed requires that the owner make mandatory payments to another nonprofit, the Recreational Centers of Sun City (RCSC).  And in order for RCSC to qualify for common area real estate tax treatment, all owners “must be obligated to pay mandatory assessments to maintain and manage the common areas.”    Consequently, to accomplish this reduced tax basis without having to be subject to state planned community laws, a separate agreement is required to be signed by the owner agreeing to pay, not the HOA, but RSCS dues.  This is extraordinary, since the deed itself could simply require mandatory payments to a bona fide HOA that would own and manage the common areas, as is the case with a genuine HOA.

The strong desire to independent of state laws, yet to use them as above, required an amendment to the common area valuation statutes, ARS 42-13402 et seq., adding the “must be” clause above in 2000 (Ariz. Sess. L. Ch 196; HB1251).  What could have possibly been the intent of this statute other than to bestow a gift upon Sun City, an unincorporated community, tax benefits amounting to an estimated $113,000 per year, or $1,130,000 over the past 10 years?

Today, the residents of this independent “principality” are coming once again before the legislature, with the SCHOA attorney (a member of the national pro-HOA lobbying group, CAI), to deny the state its legitimate right to regulate and control the public streets within Sun City (HB 2153).  Suddenly, parking has become a safety issue in spite of the fact that, from the very beginning, the county planning board approved these alleged unsafe streets, and legal mechanisms are available to SCHOA to obtain variances on a case-by-case basis.

Don’t buy it!  Sun City is demanding complete freedom from the state with no interference into the “internal affairs” of their principality.  State cooperation, provided it is consistent with the aims and goals of Sun City, however, is acceptable and welcomed.