For those who think THEY are in financial problems

therevealer

Use google earth to view patterson and wallkill (watchtower farms)

Aussie Oz

Big properties that need a car to get accross...

I have never thought they were in finacial problems. The Watchtower corporation/s investment departments are doing better than ever i reckon.

The franchise itself might not be bringing in what it used to, but the watchtower will always keep it afloat for tax benefits

oz

ldrnomo

Are you infering that because the Watchtower Bible and Tract society have all these buildings and property they are not having financial problems?

Consider some other examples of organization's that have or are having financial problems

1. The United States (lots of buildings and land)

2. General Motors (lots of buildings, land, and machinery)

3. Chrysler (same things a General Motors)

4. California (Lot's of land and quite a few buildings)

5. Many other states with the same things as California

etc. etc etc

At this point, I don't think the watchtower society is having financial problems at present but I think (and I think they do too) there business model points to financial problems ahead. IE

lower rates of contribution

more members from third world countrys who need finanical help

Cash flow at this point is not a problem because of all the real estate recently sold in NYC but if expenditures continue as they are, and income being what it is, they could be facing some financial problems in the future despite all the land and buildings.

therevealer

All good observations and I would/should add the huge new complex they are in the planning stages and seem to be going ahead with.

JW GoneBad

I agree with Idrnomo. Overhead for any business is a bitch-more so when revenue is low! And I would imagine with all that property, 'God's Organization' has its' share of expenses.

Sorry WTBTS, but as my daddy used to say "The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall!"

diamondiiz

It may depend on what you mean by financial problems. What "division" are we talking about? If we're talking about division of the business related to publishing, ya they may not be getting returns on their investment so they downsize. I never thought too deeply into dividing wts into "divisions" but quickly off the top

Printing
KHs
Assemblies Halls
DC
WTS properties including land
Investment Assets
KH fund
Missionaries

If printing isn't making money they will continue to downsize until it may be more profitable to offload it to a third party to print the trash. This way they won't need to update the machinery, and they eliminate the liability of having people working on their premises.

If KHs don't cover their own costs, KHs will be sold off and congregations merged while wts gets the proceeds of the sale. Many KHs have excess capacity that's not being utilized. 2 or 3 congregations pet KH leaves a lot of nights where the KH is not being used. You can easily have 5 congregations per KH if need be.

Assembly Halls, same thing, if they can't make enough they will force congregations to make extra congregational donations towards the assembly through a guilt trip by means of local needs and a anonymous vote.

DC - we already have a rumor of moving those to Assembly halls. Whether true or not it's one possibility of managing the future costs.

WTS properties - They are sitting on profits, they are moving out of cities to larger land properties which will be build with slave labor, and will allow for nicer living quarter for the GB and the top while at the same time the profits from the sale of Crooklyn buildings will be re-invested in assets that will bring greater returns - stocks, land in the country. Farm land may very well be a good future investment at this point.

Investment Assets (stocks/bonds,futures, etc.) - are well taken care off, and we'll most likely never know what kind of sums they're playing with. If they're making or losing in this area we'll never know.

KH Fund is obviously profitable, otherwise they would use external source for their insurance needs

Missionaries, were a liability and money burner which needed to be overhauled so they were replaced with uber-elder-spy class to keep a closer eye on wts' paying customers (jws).

As the cult moves forward, they will become more lean with focus on JWs to be more willing to accept any and all of GB directions, less educated, more sacrificing. That's why we see more GB worship, more anti-education, more anti individualism and continued anti-internet propaganda. Today's JWs are less educated than general public and are also a liabilities to wts so that may also be why we hear that JWs are not wts' volunteers nor are JWs wts' representatives. WTS is making a greater distinction between themselves and r&f for liability reasons.

Their business model is changing and they are adopting by cutting costs and moving money losing assets into asset classes that seem to have better returns in the future. So as a whole, I doubt they are having financial problems, but some divisions may very well be major money losers and in need of realignment.

outsmartthesystem

I agree with IDRNOMO. I think they are asset rich but cash poor

insearchoftruth

I agree with IDRNOMO. I think they are asset rich but cash poor

another good reason to reduce the size of the monthly mags, its all about cash flow when running a business (printing company). Ink suppliers, paper manufacturers, gas stations and maintenance folks for the printing presses all want to be paid. Yes there are costs associated with a server farm, but much less than the printed material.

LongHairGal

Diamondiiz:

You hit the nail on the head with your paragraph about the cult moving forward and focusing on JWs to be more willing to accept more @%##.

I am a "fader" and have seen the religion changing over the last decade or so. From what my "friends" there tell me, the religion (and I will quote my friend) "wants us to look out for each other". While they may think this is good, I am reading between the lines. There are too many needy people there looking around the hall for all kinds of assistance. So, it isn't just about "preaching the good news" in the territory. The religion is certainly changing (for the worse) and it does certainly expect members to "sacrifice". Oh really??

There is trouble on the horizon and any responsible person barely hanging on to a job who is still active in this religion is going to be targeted left and right!

For those who think THEY are in financial problems

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