As Had Enough said, the part of the article that really got me focused was the part that said the WTS was getting a grant to reimburse them for the rent of the center. Really? What does that mean in actuality? That the center was no cost? That can't be right, or else they would have taken the offer. There must be more to this story, and I'd like to know.
As for announcements about contributions, I long ago (while still a JW) figured out that scam. In a two-day assembly, they would have a little announcement at the beginning of the Sunday afternoon session. The brother in charge of the assembly accounts would stroll out and tell us how horribly behind they were, but that they felt sure our contributions through the rest of the day would make up the difference.
When I spoke to brothers who worked in that department, I found out that this preliminary total did not include Sunday's contributions yet. Remember, this was back when food service was the main money-maker, so to not include the Sunday lunch receipts was to take a big hit financially. Of course they had a shortfall at this stage!
From speaking to these brothers, I learned that they always got enough to cover costs as well as send money to Brooklyn. They knew they would cover costs every time. Yet inevitably the brother would stroll out on stage and report about their catastrophic shortfall, all while knowing that the Sunday lunch period and after the session period would easily make up the difference.
It seemed to me then to be a way to pump the friends for money. It still does.
