Steve2 - how do you know that?
Watchtower Society: something terribly going on - scenarios
by Gorbatchov 35 Replies latest jw friends
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DesirousOfChange
If we have 1/3 of the members contribute $100.00 a month.
I was Accounts Servant for many years at multiple Congs before becoming an Elder. A publisher who contributes $100/month is quite rare. NO WHERE close to 1/3 of the publishers in any of the Congs I was in. Those that did were mostly elderly widowed sisters that had a comfortable pension, no bills, and money in the bank, or successful brothers in business that contributed with their business check.
Doc
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Truthexplorer
Perhaps the reality is that the bubble has finally burst. That they have bitten off more than they can chew. Wrong financial advice given and so forth. I have to say I dont know what to make of everything that is going on right now. Am feeling a sense of curiosity mingled with a touch if excitement right now. -
Pete Zahut
Maybe, they shouldn't have had volunteers without financial degrees, doing the books. -
DesirousOfChange
Maybe, they shouldn't have had volunteers without financial degrees, doing the books
You're kidding yourself, Pete. Do you really think WTS lives by their own standards of no higher education? NFW! I'm told that if you lack the college degree you can't even play in the WT orchestra for recordings. That mean Brother Prince is "out"!
I'm sure they hire the best & brightest that (our) money can buy.
Doc
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tim3l0rd
No way 1/3 give $100/month, especially to the org. Having assisted with the accounts many times I can say that most give way less than that per month or divide that $100 between local and the org. Even though some of the money going to the local congregation is redirected to the org, a lot of it is spent on local expenses as well (electricity, water, repairs, etc.). Also remember that many of their members are young teens that have little or no money (only ice cream money), are elderly people living on a fixed income, are pioneers who rely a lot on assistance from others to even meet their own needs, or are living in third world countries where $100 would be a weeks or even a months worth of pay.
I think the lack of incoming funds is the largest reason for the reduction in printing. Even though the labor is free, the cost of materials, electricity, and maintenance (repair parts, etc.) are not. If they were being truthful back in 1990 that $0.25 per WT or Awake just covered the cost of printing, then today (with inflation) each magazine would cost ~$0.46 and each set would be ~$0.92. If each congregation is receiving well over a 150 sets of the public edition and around 100 of each study edition, each congregation is costing the org ~$184/month just for printing the WT & Awake. Add in the books, brochures, and special order items and that number could easily double.
The amount I have seen collected each month seems to fall short of covering those costs. The fact that several letters have been sent to the congregations asking them to reduce their standing orders and that many congregations (mine included) had their orders (even of special order items) automatically reduced seems to indicate that WTS understands that the printing costs are outpacing their donations.
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sir82
Just echoing the thoughts re: $100 per month (I did my time as an account servant back in the day).
10% of the publishers contribute 95% of the money, each month. And even that 10%, for the most part, don't reach $100 per month (exceptions would exist, of course, in affluent areas).
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James Mixon
Wow do you mean the WT RF are some cheap folks. My God 10% of $400.00 a month
is $40.00. Do you mean that in developing countries today the average publishers can
not contribute A measly $20.00 a week. The leadership are some dumb folks when it come
to higher education. I guess they haven't figure out, higher education =more money, more money.
The only reason if they hurting in contribution is that most folks believe it's BS..
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tim3l0rd
James,
Think about all the expenses that the average JW has: gas for field service, providing hospitality for visiting speakers, travel to conventions and assemblies, greasing the palms of COs, working for free on construction projects, etc. Combine this with lower than average income and increasing cost of living and their disposable income is quickly reduced to almost nothing. It's even worse for pioneers and especially pioneer couples.
I know many JWs who feel that they contribute quite a lot to the "work" by all of the above and so contribute very little through direct monetary contributions.
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DesirousOfChange
I'll give a big DITTO to what Tim posted above.
Plus.......for literally decades the WT HQ waved the FREE FREE FREE NO COLLECTIONS TAKEN banner to try to separate themselves from the "greedy" churches of Christendom. Now we see that they've adopted about every kind of money generating scam ever conceived by Christendom (except literally passing a collection plate). Of course, they don't have to pass a collection plate when they just send a letter telling the Congs how much they owe for any freaking item for which they can collect money and the Elders have no choice but to pass a resolution and send them the cash. So much for "voluntary" donations.
But as a result, most JWs (and esp the older JWs) think everything is FREE. And it's mostly the older JWs that have been frugal and cautious that might have the extra cash, but often they are just as frugal and cautious when it comes to giving it out to the Borg. To many of them $10 is a lot of money.
I've heard it repeated many times (can't substantiate the quote) that a NY Times reporter said JWs came to town for their Convention (1958) and left without breaking the 10 Commandments or a $10 bill.
Doc