FYI on the cost of producing a book...it's miniscule. Several years ago I worked for an educational book publisher; you know, the ones who put out those heavy, thick college textbooks that cost upwards of $150. Cost to print? $.51. Fifty one cents USD. When a mistake was made and a wrong or damaged book shipped out, the company didn't even want it returned because the postage was far more than the raw cost of the book!
That was a publishing company that paid wages and benefits. WTBTS doesn't even have those expenses, so why should they browbeat the congregation into making budget-breaking donations for literature?
I do remember that WT sent out a letter saying that orders for deluxe Bibles and premium publications such as the Insight books and bound volumes went up when the pricing arrangement changed, and that donations had gone down. Their solution? Withhold extra literature from the congregations until contributions matched the level of literature ordered. That was in 1991 or 1992. I remember it because I was approached and told that my literature orders were not going to be filled until my contributions increased. I was stunned, because I contributed $100 at a time. The elders claimed that no such contributions were ever made in that KH. I didn't know what to think or say back then but now I wonder if the person emptying the contribution box was pocketing the money.
When I figured out TTATT I threw away the literature...so the whole thing was an exercise in futility anyway.
