The Princess Diana Memorial Fund

by link 3 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  link

  This is a U.K. charity set up to the memory of Princess Diana. According to the U.K. newpapers it has, over the past two years, been badly burned to the extent of £14m by bad investments in the Stock Market.

  The Society says that an investment in stocks "differs from gambling". Do you agree?

  How do you (and they) make this distinction?

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  g00 10/8 p. 27 Is It Wise to Invest in the Stock Market? ***

  In view of the risks associated with the stock market, is buying stock the same as gambling? A measure of risk is involved in nearly all financial investments. Some people buy real estate, not knowing if the value of a property will increase or decrease over time. Others deposit their money in a bank, trusting that their savings will be secure. While the stock market is more complicated, simply put, one who invests in stocks buys the shares of a company in the hope that the enterprise will prosper and the stocks will increase in value.

  Such an investment differs from gambling because the stockholder has purchased part of a company. These shares may be sold to another person or saved in the hope of future growth. This cannot be said of a person who bets money at a casino or on a game of chance. Against the odds, the gambler seeks to predict an uncertain outcome and win the loser or losers’ stakes.

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  SixofNine

  because the stockholder has purchased part of a company.

  I'm never one to take up for the WT society but, they happen to be 100% correct on this one. Investing in stocks is a way to purchase part of a company, at it's most basic level.

  They also happen to be 100% incorrect on this one. Investing in stocks, for most people, is just a gamble that the company or market is going to go up.

  Which brings me to my problem with so much of what they say and what they make rules on; it really is totally dependant on the situation, and the persons motives. Many, perhaps most people "playing" the stock market, are simply gambling. I shudder to think at what some friends of mine lost in this last internet bubble burst.

  But what my friends lost came mostly from what their investments had already earned them previously. Did their loss come from being greedy? Yes, partly, absolutely. But also from being ignorant and unprofessional in their investing. Greed. Ignorance. Unprofessionalism. Should they be 33% disfellowshipped? Perhaps a Christian could not "say a greeting" but simply tip their hat?

  It reminds me of the organizations' stance on so many issues. Is saluting the flag really an act of worship? Yes for one person, no for anyone who says it isn't to them. The Watchtower Babble and Tactless society can babble on till the end of time about what constitutes an "act of worship or reverence", but if I don't, in my heart, worship the flag, nothing they say is going change that fact. It hardly seems worth dying, or even getting beat up over. It all comes down to their view of Jehovah as a god who wants, nay lust for, sacrifice, even if it's arbitrary sacrifice. Hence the WT's penchant for arbitraryness, and if they change it later, well, Jah loved the sacrifice anyway; pleasant smell of burning fat and all that rot, y'know?
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  link

  Which brings me to my next point.

  We have seen proof on this board that the Society is a heavy investor in the Stock Market.

  The Princess Diana Memorial Fund has to make its accounts available for public inspection because it is a Registered Charity (Not For Profit Organisation). The Society does not have to disclose details of any of its financial dealings and so could also lose millions on the Markets.

  The big difference is that no one would ever know.

  BTW I do not agree re the gambling aspect.

  Gambling = laying money out in the hope of a return, but the knowledge that the money invested could be lost.

  Investing = laying money out in the hope of a return, but the knowledge that the money invested could be lost.

  Whatever bits of paper you have, betting slip or share certificate, makes no difference in practice. As far as owning a part of the company, try telling that to the management. Its a theory that is unworkable.

  (Just my opinion)

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  SixofNine

  You make my point perfectly: attitude is everything. For you, the stock market would never truly be investing, it could only be gambling. But for many a serious investor, it is just another legitimate investment, and really not gambling any more than getting in your car to go to work is gambling that you won't get hit by another car.