Vision

It is 2020 and the United States is completely metric. We have rid ourselves of customary measures at all levels of government and social life and did so with reasonable popular support.

Goals

Legislative

Do the research and drafting necessary to make pro-metric laws easier for our elected officials and encourage them to think pro-metric whenever anything involving measurement is discussed.

Enforce Pre-existing Laws

There are many laws that require metrication. Unfortunately, many of them are routinely ignored (especially at the Federal contractor level).

We need to learn which laws are out there and how they're flouted and then effectively police them.

Close Metric Loopholes

There are many laws that have loopholes that allow getting around metrication (such as the "Savings in Construction Act of 1996").

Identify Metric Loopholes

They need to be identified and the effect they have worked out so we can lobby to close them (probably best done based on greatest effect first)

Lobby to Close Metric Loopholes

A campaign needs to be run to close each of the loopholes.

Public Education

Build a broader base of public support for metrication through the use of media and active citizenship.

Run a campaign pointing out the advantages of metrication

Run a campaign that goes along the lines of "Would you like to save/make a bundle of money? Work more efficiently? Make fewer mistakes? Be a more informed consumer? If so, go metric!"

Run a campaign pointing out the ease of metrication

Metric is nice and simple but many people think of it as hard (largely because they're used to thinking of it in terms of nasty conversions). We should run (or help the government/industry run) a public education campaign teaching metric as metric rather than conversions.

Make a big enough noise that metrication becomes an election issue for the next presidential election

If we want anything to happen, we need to collect people together and get them to contact the elected officials prompting them towards metrication. Let's do this for the next presidential election.

Make metric cool

If we can make it cool to use metric, it'll be self-perpetuating. A large percentage of teenagers wanting their clothes in metric sizes and their drinks exclusively in metric would help push companies along.

Negotiate

Negotiate with people, business and government to find the best path forward. A public who thinks they're being attacked will fight back. A public who realizes what a bad situation we're in will help.

Electoral

Find, support and elect candidates who support metrication.

Get metrication biographies for each of the candidates posted on this site.

In order to properly understand who supports metric and who doesn't, we need metrication based biographies on this site. This should include at least:

  • Pro-metric laws they've supported or rejected
  • Anti-metric laws they've supported or rejected
  • Metrication questionnaire response (or lack thereof)
  • Any communication between them and the public involving metrication
  • A pro/anti metric stance if they've made one

Commercial and Industrial

Encourage companies to actively support metrication through product design, advertising and lobbying.

Contact the Members of the FMI and encourage them to change the official opinion of the FMI to pro-metric

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is against changes to the FPLA but it's not clear that they have a good reason for being so (they aren't very communicative and when they do say something it tends to be rather opaque). Hopefully the position of the FPLA can be changed through encouraging it's members to be metric.

Funding

Work with the USMA in activities that require funding. Make it easy for people and companies to donate to the USMA.

There is no good reason to setup yet another 501c(3) organization. The USMA has historically done a fine job, we just need to get greater funding happening so grander things like media campaigns can be taken on.

Running expenses should be offset through merchandise sales where possible.

Setup a Web Based Payment System

The following payment systems should be investigated and linked to an account for the USMA so that donations can be easily made via credit card or other means over the internet (the easier it is, the better for everyone):

Recover Running Expenses Through Merchandise Sales

Running expenses should be offset (as much as possible) through the sale of merchandise. Any surplus from sales should go to the USMA to be put towards larger projects.

Obviously, other goals such as education should be considered when designing merchandise.

Apply for Specialized Plates

Many states run a specialized plates series where a portion of the plate sales are sent to the non-profit for which the plate was made.

If the USMA is interested in supporting this, run a competition to get a wide variety of entries and submit the best one to each state that allows this.

Notes

You are strongly encouraged to add to this document. Suggested additions include but are not limited to:

  • Adding goals
    • Adding any steps required to advance a goal to it
      • Adding your name to a step (please ensure you have contact details available should anyone else who's interested in that task wish to contact you)
      • Adding an expected completion date to something you've put your name next to
  • Commenting on any section of this document
You might find the You Can Make A Difference page useful in guiding your actions to achieve the steps towards our goals.