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Does WT have ethical investment policy?
by badboy 9 Replies latest jw friends
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diamondblue1974
It claims that it does...and that it invests in securities which comply with their christian principles however the truth is very very different....
DB
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Mary
The WTS's "ethical investment policy" is hypocrisy at it's best: they disfellowship people for smoking, yet they accept money from a fund that has been invested in Philip Morris stock.......makes perfect sense.
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Oroborus21
DiamondBlue or (Blondie since you seem to be a resource goddess) can you post an official "statement" from the Society or something from the publications that discusses the Society's investments and its policies for itself?
I won't get into again as I think I discussed it previously in the old thread, but I don't consider the Society's accepting the proceeds from a charitable trust established for its benefits and which may have objectionable holdings to be a violation of ethics or moral principles WHEN there is not any direct administrative control over the trust.
The fact is that all investments ANY INVESTMENTS are morally questionable if you want to dig deep enough or extend the connections far enough.
Let me give you an example/illustration.
There is a FACTORY that makes Nuclear Bombs.
Working in the factory might be questionable for a Christian. (The Society would say that it is definitely so, even if the "job" was purely administrative or tangential like being the pest-control or janitor service for the factory building.)
What about working on the ROAD that leads to the Factory? What about being a Mail Carrier that happens to have the factory on his route? What about the Food Catering company that provides the food to the Factory's cafeteria? What about the Farmer that grows the food that it sells to the Catering company?
etc. etc. It is like THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT.
Simlarly when it comes to investments, consider is it immoral to INVEST in the defense contractor (factory)? Is it immoral to invest in the Private Contractor that built the Road to the Factory? Is it immoral to pay taxes to the Governent that pays the Mail Carrier? Is it immoral to invest in the Catering Company simply because one of its clients is the Bomb Factory? Is it immoral to invest in the Agriculture Co-op that supports the Farmer, that supplies the food, that goes to the catering company, that provides the food in the factory that Jack built???
My point again is that all things are connected and drawing the line anywhere is just arbitrary and we just have to recognize and accept that fact.
-Eduardo
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blondie
Resource goddess, eh?
Notice that I am the Supreme goddess.
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g00 10/8 p. 27 Is It Wise to Invest in the Stock Market? ***By considering the background of a company, an investor can also ensure that his money will not be used to support an unethical enterprise.?See Awake!, February 8, 1962, pages 21-3.
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2000/10/8a/article_01.htm
(Unfortunately, I do not have access to that Awake, either in my personal paper library or the CD)
The WTS is very secretive about its finances. I once knew a sister that worked in Bethel accounting and she said that if they revealed anything it would lead to an immediate dismissal from Bethel.
There is of course the information about the Rand Corporation and its financial relationship to the WT.
Here is a site a found (it may not be the most comprehensive)
http://www.watchtowernews.org/randcam.htm
But I am not the WT finance goddess. I do know that the WTS is a non-profit religious organization and as such much of their finances are not available to the public. Which is strange since the accounts report in every congregation is given once a month at the service meeting and the report is available for review by any baptized congregation member (some congregations even post it on the information board).
Blondie
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LongHairGal
Eduardo:
Good points! Yes, everything is interrelated so it is hard to draw a line. (Kinda like the fact that if you go back far enough, we are all related).
The problem is that they don't extend the same courtesy to the dubs and will split hairs with you!
LHG -
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Oroborus21
Blondie, yeah i know I have seen general references like the one you cited but I am looking for an official position statement. Diamond stated rather categorically that the Society's postion is XYZ and I wanted to see if there is any official evidence of what its position is beyond the inferences to be drawn from what it has published about investing or business ethics.
-Eduardo
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blondie
Well, Eduardo, some information is just not out there because the WTS or similar entities are not required to reveal such information, not in the US anyway. I can't speak for other countries.
The best thing to do is use the same techniques that were used to discover the Rand Corporation connection and see what other properties are in any Watchtower corporation portfolios.
I am checking with someone in security law and see if they can help.
Blondie
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badboy
tHANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR REPLIES.