Cutback prediction

by slimboyfat 204 Replies latest members private

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  _Morpheus

  You didnt answer slim. You wrote 7 paragraphs and managed to avoid commenting on a time period for collapse. You seem not to have the conviction you claim.

  and yes i heard they said web content was being stopped.... in some areas. They are ramping up in others. How many goddam young people ask articles can they write anyway?? It just makes sense to retool and continue to revamp. You admit newpapers are on decline but dont see rhe similarity to wt/awake, which are jw newspapers??

  Come on slim. Own it and admit you dont really think they are going to collapse.
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  LV101

  Only $200 million for abuse lawsuits!! Chunk change all the estates (invested conservatively/tax free) they clean up on and nothing compared to what it should be! I'm assuming many lawsuits/settlements are still in their initial status -- victims settling for minimal amts. and litigation ongoing.

  Barbara Anderson would know the low down on their pedophilia horror and potential payouts. Slim, at one point not too long ago she (or someone) posted an article on this vein. Maybe it was when you were inactive on the board. I'll see if I can find.
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  OnTheWayOut

  Physical book sales are up a little bit. Watchtower book sales are probably still dismal. Their own financial difficulties include making no money from books.

  I guarantee that someone is counting the cost and return of printing alone at Watchtower. Whether there is money left from selling properties is irrelevant to that. If printing is costing money, they are deciding to reduce it.
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  LV101

  _Morpheus you are hilarious and make me LOL but be nice -- anything negative re/the cult is interesting/entertaining. We need to take bets or odds (whatever it's called/know nothing about gaming!) on WT's future.
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  LV101

  OTWO - I'm amazed JWs actually sold the 2 journals - W/T and Awake. I gave them away but contributed greatly at the back book counter/whatever. No wonder couple of my friends/acquaintances took them so willingly - lololol. Actually, a couple of them wanted them after I quit the horror religion. Two or three people of these individuals started receiving them from another JW. I couldn't believe but they told me they'd read them and felt calm. They also really liked the pamphlet ? about what happens at death.

  I believe book sales are edging back up -- many will never give them up. Electronic devices to read on are only good for reading in the dark but certainly is clutter free.
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  _Morpheus

  Otwo, no disagreement from me that wt book sales are not profitable and therefore being curtailed and or cut out altogether... thats smart buissnes not immenent collapse
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  LV101

  Gads - it's early, but I clearly need to proof read now and then/sorry.
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  OneEyedJoe

  I wish we had actual hard numbers about the kingdom hall sell offs over the years - I suspect that would be most telling indeed. There's certainly been a rise in postings here about kingdom halls being put up for sale, but that's all anecdotal without real data. They've got billions in property assets, and knowing how hard they're working to liquidate would be a good indication of how much trouble they're in.

  It will be interesting to see what happens. I think the ultimate fate of the cult rests on how cynical the leadership is - if they truly believe that armageddon is coming at any moment and that the israelite war god will swoop in and save them at the last moment, then it seems entirely possible that they could find themselves properly bankrupt and see banks awarded their HQ to settle the debts. If they've come to terms with the fact that it's a scam and make strategic sacrifices to ensure their survival they may be able to keep themselves afloat with a significantly reduced membership.
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  OrphanCrow

  sfb: I don't know how it will play out but I think there may be some sort of crisis/splinter/disintegration within 5 years or so. Unless they can think of some way out of this mess.

  I dunno, slimboy, but I think that this so-called "mess" is part of a larger plan/strategy.

  This is just the 1920s all over again. Hell, the WTS/ISBA at that time lost over 75% of its membership during its transformation into the new and improved Jehovah's witnesses AKA Joe's Army.

  I don't believe for a minute that the org's supposed financial "difficulties" are much more than part of the propaganda devised to smoke screen their way into yet another configuration.

  I think that one of the org's strategies is to cut dead weight. Selling off Kingdom Halls gets rid of those without the $$$ to travel elsewhere. Switching to cart witnessing gets rid of those who don't have the $$$ for insurance etc. And etc etc...

  The org wants to lose membership in the Western countries. They want to shake lose all those who are only warming seats. I don't think the org is having a financial crisis - they are having a financial re-structuring.
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  never a jw

  Orphan crow: "The org wants to lose membership in the Western countries."

  What would be the point of that? The only feasible answer is that they would want to make a quick buck and liquidate real estate assets, but those assets are precisely their source of long term income: "rental" income and donations. I think they are between a rock and a hard place.