by ToesUp 55 Replies latest jw friends
I have a pretty good intuition but I have to admit I am going back and forth on the JW Tv May Broadcast.
I keep asking myself are they really in financial trouble (wishful thinking) or are they just grabbing for more money?
I ALWAYS appreciate reading everyone's thoughts and ideas on here.
Let me know what you think. I would love to hear it.
It depends on what is meant by "trouble". In terms of operating expenses, no way. Lett told a bald faced lie about that.
They do obviously have capital initiatives that require a certain amount of capital to make possible, and this is likely why they are asking for money. They are clearly restructuring also, (they have been doing this since they did away with the book study in 2008, if not the Bethel layoffs starting in 2002), and moving towards a more regional business model. This too both requires capital for the restructuring projects and allows them to save operating costs longer term.
They know most JWs do not understand any of this, so it is easy for them to get away with. This is one of perks of maintaining an uneducated member base.
So they are being deceptive and manipulative at best.
d4g
I agree with d4g's points, but do wonder whether there are deeper issues there. What triggered the restructuring to begin with? And the more recent cash grabs on kingdom hall funds hint towards a genuine current cashflow problem.
The capital projects are grandiose and obviously, in a sane business, would be carefully examined for value. Is there genuinely a need for hundreds of millions to be spent on RTOs? Or on increasing the pace of kingdom hall construction/refurbishment in a low growth area such as the USA? And where does the massive new development in Britain fit into things?
They clearly do have problems there, with many of them being a product of their own delusions.
They are investing in property which is properly a very good investment but expensive. I don't think for a second they have a serious problem, they are just using a temporary deficit to obtain more funds. It's like this:
Bob: Lucy, can you loan me some money?
Lucy: Uhm okay, something happened?
Bob: Yah, I just can't make ends meet anymore. I spend more than I earn
Lucy: Oh you poor thing. But you have a good job, what changed?
Bob: I buy a lot of gold. I expect the price to go up so i am investing, but gold is expensive so now I need more money
Lucy: So what are you going to spend my money on?
Bob: More gold! I really need money Lucy!
One of the dangers in restructuring is sending the wrong message.
I think that the Org has seen less money coming in since some of their Real Estate sales and the infamous letter about the congregation mortgages.
Most of the simple people amongst the flock may have interpreted that as " we (the Org) are ok financially" and especially since these are hard economic times for eveyone especially the poorer labor force that makes up a large part of the "army" of JWs.
I would think this has led to a downturn in contribution from the backbone members.
I think the Org has realized this and are trying to correct the impression by letting folks know that their future "plans" were based on donations staying at the rate they have been.
If you look at the video in terms of the "why" behind the "what" you see an interesting thing.
The video leads out with donated egg money? Seriously? Apparently.
Then we have a single young sister donating electronically.
Then a flash to people cleaning the Kingdom Hall.
The first one is to appeal to all the little old ladies who make up the biggest contributors to ALL televangelists.
The second is to appeal to the single pioneer and/or career sisters since women make up a greater part of the Org than men and also control the finances in a two contributor home.
The third one, is just to throw folks off the scent of it being ALL about money....after all, you can more likely contribute if you are there cleaning and see the contribution box, right?
MORE MONEY, MORE MONEY, MORE MONEY
Jehovah wants more money so we can build up are real estate assets
Someone on another thread said why not rent out regional translation offices at say $3K a month rather than spend a million bucks on one. It's a good point.
Jesus (who had nowhere to lay his head of course) didn't tell his disciples to buy an upper room for the last supper did he?
Me again ...
Something is urgent and ongoing too. Losing D.O.'s; kicking bethelites out. Closing branches. Normally if they want to raise the bank balance they get the CO's to lean on the cong. elders or to mention it in their circuit talks. This time they've cut out the middle men. Maybe too many cong. elders are wary - especially if they've just sent a six figure sum off to the branch or HQ.
The fact these well-fed men aren't wearing their rings shows they've at least received some negative feedback from these forums.
I hope it's fear of pedo lawsuits but surely that can't be all of it? Perhaps Babylon's waters really are drying up!
It doesn't matter how much money the WT get, they will always overspend and want more.
This is what you get from a gluttonous and insatiable organisation with no idea how the real world works.
This "do more, give more" organisation will never be satisfied.
