CAP Wishlist for State Legislature/Government

[DBlair]

From what has been discussed here and locally, it seems that most of what members want from the State are:

- More involvement, to include greater use for things such as Disaster Relief and other areas where CAP can participate as a professional and cost-effective member of the state emergency management team. Also, as a 'team member', the opportunity to be at the discussion table when various ideas and decisions are being considered.

- A better relationship with the State and its Department of Military Affairs/National Guard to have greater access (without cost) to buildings, armories, bases, etc.

- Educational benefits/tuition assistance such as a partial waiver towards tuition at state colleges/universities as a result of Emergency Services involvement or perhaps Cadet Program achievement.

- Greater tax breaks for those involved with Emergency Services so as to reward members and help defray the often-substantial personal expense, beyond the usual tax deductions.

- Civic Leadership Academies and other opportunities for Cadets to experience and learn about government at the State level.

Actual purchasing of equipment or general funding (ie not in return for something) might be difficult in these tight budget times, but many of the other things may indeed be possible as they don't require an actual outlay of money, but rather (in some cases) slightly less revenue which would be offset by the contribution made to the State by volunteer professionals, such as CAP members.

Any further ideas or thoughts on what has been mentioned?

These are all great.  My question would be are the members willing to "lengthen their stride" for these benifits?  In politics there's always a quid pro quo.

If by "lengthen their stride" you mean (please correct me if I am misunderstanding) be willing to get more involved with things like ES (Disaster Relief, etc.) in order to reap some of the benefits mentioned above, I think it will be a mixed bag. For some, it would probably come down to if they saw value in that specific benefit.

For example, if someone isn't planning on attending a State college or university or has already finished their education and has no desire to continue, then that member may not see the value in a partial tuition waiver in return for a certain level of involvement. Others may see it as a huge benefit if they are seeking options for how to afford a college education.

Likewise would be the issue with greater tax breaks in exchange for a certain level of involvement. If they don't see the value/benefit in it, then they might not be enticed by such an initiative. At least part of the interest will be derived from whether a member sees interest in it. For example, a Mitchell Award yields E-3 in the AF, but if a Cadet doesn't have any desire to enlist, then its somewhat of a moot point.

That being said, these could be nice recruiting tools, or encouragement for members to get more involved, or even a method to encourage further education within our membership.

Any thoughts?