by slimboyfat 204 Replies latest members private
Quite possible. New paperback books for the book study now need to be specially ordered through an elder. Publishers are not allowed to order these books directly even though they are just flimsy paperbacks. The next obvious shell is to eliminate them entirely.
Plus the meeting is far too long. Watchtower Study could be cut to half and hour too.
I take the view that they are in serious trouble from all angles.
There is nothing going for the JW org except a core membership who will remain loyal, not for the sake of the religion but simply continue to believe Watchtower dogma for their own misguided emotional wellbeing.
The money is not arriving at HQ as it used to and the costs have risen so there is a shortfall which is probably increasing each year. Hence the cut backs, the selling off the family silver in the form of property stock and the pressing need to save for the imminent financial Armageddon of legal settlements and awards.
Add to this the culture of young people who are less inclined towards religion anywhere except in the poorest and least educated parts of the globe. Add also the availability of good, free and ready information on the internet which happily exposes JW lies, so few new members joining (unless they are very, very dim).
The response by the GB is to keep up the charade of divinely ordained success.
GB member Loesch at the annual meeting falsely paints a picture of growth and progress to the flock, buoying them up with news that there were a million attendees at the memorial in the Dem Rep of the Congo in central Africa, which is the only place where significant increase is taking place.
Well take a look at the state of the Congo; 69 million people suffering from a government where the elected leader has refused to leave office, where grotesque embezzlement is axiomatically assumed by politicians, where 5.4 millions of the inhabitants have recently died from what is called "Africa's World War" through bombings, burning, disease and starvation. When people are so denied a reasonable existence it is hardly surprising that the JW bluster of paradise sounds like a good thing.
If this is the calibre of JW "growth" then it is the end game for the Watchtower. It no longer has anything to offer the world at large, its promises have never come true, they have no basis for authority left and their money and patronage is deserting them.
I see as a paradigm the situation at the end of the life of the British Rover car company. It was failing financially and sold off cheaply to a consortium who promised to keep it going. All they could actually do (and probably knew it) was to suck the money out of before it collapsed completely.
Perhaps this is what the GB know they will have to do. . . Or are they in fact already doing it?
Many predicted the demise of the WT when they got caught whoring with the United Nations over 15 years ago. Didn't happen!
I am just glad to hear that things are progressing in the right direction for this cult. Spiraling downward. If the org does continue for the foreseeable future, my hope is that all of the governing body members follow in the footsteps of their great leader J.F. Rutherford and die from cancer in their assholes as they perch atop their toxic waste dump.
Slim said:
“Instead we are presented with a vague notion that Watchtower may/will get charitable funding? That's what you consider good evidence of robust finances? Speculation based on nothing...... As for the reserves in the British branch: we talked about this last week, did you miss it? If Watchtower gathers all the spare money from local congregations, of course they will have a reserve. The question is how long will it last.”
oh slim slim slim... forgive me for missing one of your posts in the nonstop torrent of speculation regarding the orgs demise. The problem is you fail to acknowledge the simple unvarnished truth: The UK branch is making money. Without printing books. End of story. That fact sweeps your foolish theory and endless speculation to the rubbish bin where it belongs.. you roll on anyway, of course. And of course the developed countries (usa europe canada) are the ones making money for the cult. Is that supposed to be a support for your theory??? How ridiculous. Its ALWAYS been that way. The lessor developed countries NEVER made money even when literature was being charged for. Slim i realized a few weeks ago trying to reason with you on this was pointless but it really seems to have jumped the shark. Fact: the org is still positive cash year after year. Fact. Indisputable hard evidence given fact.
As for the other topic being addressed now, the orgs real problem with obtaining membership and keeping it, i think thats a real issue. They are on a slow path to extinction when they cant keep the born ins... so few are recruited anymore that failure to keep kids is massive.
The UK branch is making money. Without printing books. End of story.
how can you substantiate that Morph ? does that include cash from the sale of high value K Halls and mill hill ?
It was substantiated two pages ago.
2016: 43,009,677.00 pound sterling receipts UK 2016
total publishers
i make that £311. per publisher..per annum.
making money ?
Yes and no Morph.
I agree the UK branch has plenty of cash right now. The increase in figures over the past 2-3 years is most likely due to the push for cash for Chelmsford. What is also not clear is how much they might have received from abroad.
The other side of the coin is that spending will have rocketed for Chelmsford since the main build has been pushed forward by the use of external contractors as well as volunteer labour.
Flipping again however is that they will get a big windfall over the next 2-3 years as Mill Hill properties are sold off.
I don't think the real trends for the UK will be visible for another 5+ years, at the moment there is a significant too and fro of cash which clouds the picture.
Personally I think the WTS has plenty of cash now but they can see the writing on the wall as far as the long term cash flow situation is concerned. I think they have done a complete 180 in strategy and where they were going for expansion they are thinking about contraction. They are hunkering down early IMHO - cutting back as far as possible as early as possible. Get the reserves in. Get it earning interest. Get it hidden away from nasty lawyers seeking compensation. Get the R&F used to working with few physical assets.
I think their financial strategy is far more planned and sorted than their doctrinal strategy, e.g.
Herd - "how the feck are we going to explain no big A in 20 or 30 years time?"
TM3 - "don't sweat it. We'll still have plenty of money to keep the air con on in your luxury retirement apt"
Actually the British branch seems to have made its money selling books and magazines to other branches. What it will do now that's finished remains to be seen.
Plus another poster said he heard from someone in the know that it was one of only five branches that was not making a loss already.
Mac, a per publisher breakdown of income is interesting but irrelevant. Making money dosent mean each pub giving X amount, it means what it always has since capitalism was conceived: more money coming than going out. The uk (and other developed countries) have more comming in than going out. That is, by definition, profit.
Slim, reality check: the wt may play games on paper by selling liturature to other branches but in the end its all wt money! How can you not understand that if britain prints and then sells to another branch that its still profit? Its all jw money. No matter how they move it around the expense incured was less than money that came in. If the uk bore the expense of printing but other branches offset that with contributions that came then they made money. Its not compilcated. They made money. They made money. They made money. They made money. Keep repeating it. Retooling dosent meant they are broke. It means they see better and more efficient ways to make money. Thats just smart, not a sign that they are about to collapse. They made money they made money they made money the made money they made money
