Not sure if anyone has suggested this yet, but, perhaps this is their cold way of getting rid of the older members of the "family" so they won't have to pay for their medical expenses and deal with all the issues that go with old age? That way, they can get a fresh new crop of younguns in, and young also equals inexperienced, so they won't be quite as inclined to question things.....?
Bethel Downsizing...The True Story
by Poztate 21 Replies latest jw friends
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XBEHERE
ANYHOW, she said her 11 year old daughter is planning to go to Bethel!!!! I was like, WTF?!?!? I tried telling her they don't even accept 'sisters' and that Bethel is downsizing but she assurred me Bethel is accepting even single sisters over the age of 18!!!
They are still promoting Bethel service as a "carrot" for young ones so this does not surprise me. They just want young ones to be more wrapped up in the cult so that its more difficult to escape from it once they realize that something is rotten.
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diamondblue1974
If you look at any other commercial organisation facing cashflow problems you will see that the WTS is behaving no differently; they are cutting costs (reducing the paper costs and making publications smaller); they are reducing headcount (by making bethelites redundant) and preparing for the next step in selling off key assets.
From a corporate strategy point of view their actions will be consistent with most organisations but with one key difference, you can bet your bottom dollar that whatever moves they do make, they will take measures to ensure that the R&F dont perceive it to be an act of desperation; dont expect anything too drastic all at once; their moves will be slow, gradual and with a long term end view in mind. They dont have shareholders to report to and so their actions do not have to be immediate and obvious.
DB74
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Jourles
I tried telling her they don't even accept 'sisters' and that Bethel is downsizing but she assurred me Bethel is accepting even single sisters over the age of 18!!
Actually, that is not entirely correct. My wife's cousin is planning on going there to be a dental hygenist. I haven't heard if she is going anymore due to the layoffs though. I don't know if having ex-bethelites and CO's in your family lineage helps get your foot in the door - I imagine it is a huge plus.
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Nosferatu
reducing the paper costs
Yeah, what the hell happened to the paper? I checked out the convention invite, and it felt extremely flimsy and cheap, even for paper. My mother also complains that the WT rips when she's underlining in it. The magazines are used from the same cheap paper!
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Jourles
This was from a couple of years ago before the announcement that the Awake was getting cut to once a month:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/81777/1335494/post.ashx#1335494
Should we cut back on the magazine distribution timeframe? How about combine the WT and Awake into one magazine? Instead of twice a month, how about just once? This alone would cut expenditures on printed materials by almost 50-75%.
I still wonder how long the "monthly" Awake was on the GB agenda?
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Terry
I think the Watchtower boys are getting rid of "witnesses" to the crime.
Too many up close and personal eyeballs peering into the everyday affairs allows leaks of information to the peons back at the Kingdom Halls.
Getting rid of volunteers isn't a cost-cutting activity! How could it be?
Rather, the embarassment of being shown to use SLAVE LABOR is more than they can risk at this time.
This is a gigantic RE-THINK in how the bloody machine is to be wired to make it impervious to scrutiny from the outside.
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metatron
I think the most probable outcome is that they will dump the Awake completely and reduce the Watchtower printing into a 6,000,000 plus
internal publication. That would hold on to the mind-control of the Watchtower study and agree with Jaracz's contempt for the Awake
magazine, besides saving precious money.
As to off-shore investments, that won't help them much. Sure, you can protect your saved assets but how do you run the organization
that way? They need a constant cash flow of tens of millions to keep it all going and simply 'burying your money" somewhere isn't
much help.
All of this highlights the critical question they will be forced to answer: Are we a business? or a religion?
- because, increasingly, they can't be both. The more they 'pull' their assets, the more the organization will suffer
and the more silent erosion will accelerate.
metatron
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LDH
Jourles/XB
I guess the reason for my sarcasm is that her daughter wants to be a MARINE BIOLOGIST. Out of her own mouth, she's wanted to work with animals for 6 years now as a veternarian.
So hearing both comments made me realize that the carrot is Bethel, and she'll get to be a marine biologist in the new system.
Except animals won't get sick and die in a state of perfection.
What a load of crap.
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Poztate
Interesting concept. When I was in bethel I couldn't believe what a total waste of resources it was. The same amount of output could have been achieved with a fraction of paid labour. Franz quoted some research also showing that a company could produce the mags at the same cost as what it costs bethel. They could do it all legally, for profit, above board and not loose any money.
It is interesting to think that a bunch of unpaid Bethelites drain as many financial resources to produce the mags as a commercial firm would. Spinning off some or all of the printing would probably improve their bottom line and keeping the business in the black and that's what it's all about.