My JW mother-in-law has done house-cleaning work for 12 years for a filthy-rich Jewish couple in Florida. How's that for hypocricy?
Why do most brothers work in the cleaning business?
by JH 29 Replies latest jw friends
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Descender
Cleaning and landscaping are the big JW businesses where I live. I went to college and got a bachelor degree and work at a desk job and I still don't even make close to the $90k a year my 19 year old JW friend was making with his own landscaping business and he got off 4 months out of the year to boot. Not a real job, my a**. =)
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metatron
It's difficult to hold a good job as a Witness because the organization marginalizes you.
It's very difficult to own a restaurant or bar or other property that advertises for holiday traffic. Long hours
at the office on overtime, missing meetings, is discouraged.
A lot of self employed Witnesses evade taxes. They used to preach against it at Bethel ( "G-jobs") but it was done
anyway.
metatron
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Prisca
I know a couple in Sydney who had a cleaning business (it was in both their names so to minimise tax) and would only work for so much, because if they earned too much, they would lose their govt "low income" welfare benefits. They would only work 2.5 days a week, so they wouldn't lose govt subsidies like free health, dentistry etc.
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wednesday
Done properly, it actually pays quite well.
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blondie
I know a couple in Sydney who had a cleaning business (it was in both their names so to minimise tax) and would only work for so much, because if they earned too much, they would lose their govt "low income" welfare benefits. They would only work 2.5 days a week, so they wouldn't lose govt subsidies like free health, dentistry etc.
Prisca, we knew 2 JW couples like that who encouraged us to do the same, that is, get a job and only earn just below the income threshold to qualify for medical benefits. We told them that we felt that would be stealing from the people who really needed those benefits. That ended that "relationship."
2 Thessalonians 3 8 Nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and struggle we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden or impose on any of you [for our support].
(That's what these healthy, able-to-work people were doing, expecting those who paid taxes to the government, including those in the congregation, to pay for them rather than working and supporting themselves. Not heeding Paul's words, "that we might not be a burden or impose on any of your [for our support].)
9 [It was] not because we do not have a right [to such support],
(These people might qualify "legally" (having a right to such support) but are not ethically or morally entitled. Paul felt that even if he had a "right" that it was not spiritually wise to exercise it but rather he worked hard to support himself.)
but [we wished] to make ourselves an example for you to follow.
This revelation about these so-called spiritual examples added to our questioning the WTS.
Blondie
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JT
I think some here have missed the point of this thread, no one is condemning or looking down on cleaning as a business, the issue is WHY DO JW DO IT.
I know lots of folks here in DC who go into cleaning business due to gov contracts - just ask the guy who just landed the cleaning account for the Pentagon-
so the fact that cleaning for a living is what some folks do - doesn't address WHY DO JW DO IT
and as has been pointed out for the jw the cleaning business for so many is directly related to their concept of "Hard work", "being Humble" for if any jw would say at a gathering that they wanted to get out of cleaning and get a desk job or white collar job
everyone of us here know exactly how the avg jw would view such a comment-and that is the point
while many here have commented on how they have been able to build thier business in such a manner that it pays well, the fact of the matter is the mindset of a jw is not to "Build a Biz" with the hope of having a large staff, overseeing major cleaning accounts, but instead
working just enough to provide sustance and covering and lots of tiime to sell wt books
as they used to say we need to view our jobs ONLY AS A MEANS TO AN END and the end is we hve more time to preach-
in my exp i have never heard of a jw who wanted to start a cleaning biz for the purpose of building an organization or company- but only just enough to pay the bills and not go naked
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Pork Chop
I think rhia "cleaning business" thing is just another broad negative generalization. There are two large congregations where I live, about 320 total attending, and I know of two guys that are in the cleaning business, hardly a significant percentage.
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xjw_b12
I'd have to say, because of the flexibility of the schedule. Especially if you are a pioneer.
Or............you like to take advantage of good cheap labour !
In my former congregation, an elder brother, had an established cleaning business, and a lot of brothers and sisters in the congregation, worked for him, including myself.
I had a dental business I cleaned on a nightly basis, and I thought I was doing OK, until I saw a cheque for him, from the property manager, for the previous month's work. He was paying me less than half of the contract's worth.
All he did was come in every 2 months, and strip and wax the floors, a 4 - 6 hour job, which I also helped out with. The cleaning supplies were provided by the property manager.
So, lining up 10 - 12 contracts like that, and getting brothers and sisters to do the work for you, and making a 80 -100 % profit, while I'd say that was pretty lucrative.
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gumby
For all those who think they do it because of lack of education........get real.
I know plenty of them who are just as intellectual as the next guy........some even more so, and they are still in the buisness. Not everyone who graduates goes to colledge,,,,dubs included.
One reason for the cleaning buisness is they do not have to put up with all the rebuttles from bosses or workmates resulting from dub rules. Assembly time off is guaranteed. Weekend are free if they choose. No need to have to explain "we don't celebrate that" to anyone.
They also can be sure they will have "fellow dubs" to get to work around and not those awfull wordly people.
There is usually a "group" of janitors in many congregations but in all fairness, .......there are also many who have jobs just as WE do.
Gumby