Well, first off, they might not have a lot of cash in their hands, but bethelites get a huge income when you think about it. Free room and board, free meals, free healthcare, free shoes and clothes, free electricity, free utilities, free water, free cleaning services, a modest stipend, and a fulfilling career with little to no tax burden. How many people can say they have no worries at all about where their next meal is coming from, how the next bill is going to be paid or who will care for them when they are sick? How many children go hungry and without health care or insurance in America? I have lived near the bethelites almost all my life. An elder who lives with his wife in bethel once told me that he's never going to leave bethel and give up the free room and board. Nevermind that his wife is unhappy there and wants a family, he's never leaving. Oh, and bethelites are the rock stars of our community. Even if they don't have the cash to buy something, you can bet that someone will donate it to them. They also get a lot of support from their families. It's surprising to me to see how many of them drive cars that are in no way modest, and in many cases way more expensive than what I could afford, and I'm not exactly making minimum wage. At the very least, you can add up what you pay yourself for the basic expenses in life, and give your friend a true salary for the bethelites, with a reminder that it's tax-free. Your friend doesn't have to hate the bethelites or think ill of them, but she/he does have to realize that they are just as human as the rest of us and they are not doing what they do because they have a purely altruistic soul.
That being said, in my opinion, I don't think a huge majority of the bethelites are consciously trying to deceive people; I think they are just trying to survive like the rest of us. Some really are sincere and loving. Some have an idea of what might really be going on, but believe that they are doing more good than bad and continue on their path with their head down and their questions at bay. The rest know what the deal is completely, and I think they choose to either let fear keep them from making any changes (and really, who can blame them because look at what they might lose if they leave--no job, few life and marketable skills, no friends or family, little money and no place to live), or they see an opportunity for intangible rewards that are very attractive to them. In the past, I never gave much thought to those intangibles, but have begun to realize that they are really, really powerful motivators for humans. Power, feelings of superiority, belonging to an exclusive group, belonging to a group of people who have been approved by God as "good, truthful and loving", giving up huge parts of your life in martyrdom (JWs are praised for giving up marriage, children, career, education, and we miss out on love, friendship, and possible wealth which makes life easier), having a definitive purpose in life, having all the answers to life, and being part of a work that involves judging and "'marking" people for possible salvation while knowing that you are already saved...any one of these things is enough to keep someone on their path, even though it may be destructive to others. These motivations apply to JWs as a whole, but even more so to the bethelites and the GB because they are the ones who have dedicated their entire lives to the organization rather than just part of their lives.
Peace
