Canadian JWs voting YES on city tax-exemption poll

by Had Enough 34 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  JWdaughter

  JW Facts: >>>>What hypocrisy. JWs can not get involved with politics even when their lives are at stake such as in Malawi, but make an exception if it is to save the Organization money.

  I just sent this email to Janis;

  Hi Janis,

  I saw your article on giving Jehovah's Witnesses a tax break, and felt it worth responding. As a group Jehovah's Witnesses are encouraged to isolate themselves from ?the world?, apart from the evangelizing work that aims at growing their organization. They do not provide hospitals, schools or charities. The 2005 Annual report for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia shows they had revenue of $16,434,005 but the total listed under Shepherding (hospital information, legal support, humanitarian relief work) was only $1,391.

  Jehovah's Witnesses make use of Canadian infrastructure but do not give back to the Canadian system in the way mainstream religious groups do, so it is unfair for them demand equal recognition and tax breaks on the basis of religious or charity status.

  JWFacts made good points. A non-profit charitable org. that substantially works to improve things for folks in THIS life perhaps deserve tax breaks. The WT/JWs do not.

  Of course, as a former JW 'associate' I am interested to know if the JWs are being encouraged by the organtization to vote in this or if it is a rumor, local directive(which is unsupported by the WTBTS) or ?? I lived through Malawi/Mexico times. I would be angry if the org. was behind this, but understand if the locals 'lost their theocratic head' in it. We know that the WT will find a way to just make up the difference on the backs of the congregation-as always. Of course there are no answers here that will make me feel positive towards the WT, only some that will further cement my negative view of them.
• 

  R6Laser

  Funny how hard some try to bring anything and put a negative spin on it. This is a newspaper poll, so nothing to do with politics. Secondly this newspaper poll is in no way accurate. I know many times where people can go around settings or even log in to different computers to make the vote sway one way, this is the problem with online polls. I can call my friends that work at an University Computer Lab and have him log in to as many computer he wants and have him vote YES or NO. Even funnier how a comment was made that JW's are trying to sway the vote to YES, but in the same token here we are trying to do the same thing to sway the vote to NO.
• 

  rosa

  This pool reminds me a brazilian pool in 2005:

  "Do you AGREE to the PROIBITION of guns commerce?"

  YES = no guns

  NO = controlled guns commerce

  Many people thought "NO guns" and voted "NO".

  The "NO" won. no 64% x 36% yes
• 

  OUTLAW

  Just put my vote in..449 vote yes..56 vote NO...OUTLAW
• 

  greendawn

  When money is involved suddenly the dubs can meddle in some politics including elections organised by the local political powers or the local beast as the dubs call them. Long ago the WTS made its alliance with Swaggart a man of Babylon according to them to save on taxes.

  Once more they reveal their true character, it's WT$ not WTS.
• 

  Genesis

  Letters to the editor weights way more than vote ! Common all !
• 

  rebel8

  bttt

  Here is a link to the site http://www.tricitynews.com/ and to the far right of your screen, you can see box to make your vote.

  This only takes less than 30 seconds and may help sway public opinion.
• 

  Had Enough

  undercover said:

  This is just an opinion poll by a newspaper.

  The very subject title of my thread stated just that.....this is a poll about whether we think a group deserves to be given tax exemption status.

  I never said it was about JWs voting...just that the JWs were emailing each other to "VOTE" in this poll to "influence public opinion" towards the JWs so that they might become tax exempt....although there really is a fine line between "voting" in an opinion poll to try and influence others' opinion when it does come time to vote, and actually voting in a political decision.

  I don't see the advantage of organizing the "world apostate movement" to all "vote" opposite of what the JWs want, unless you just want to overload the server of the newspaper.

  I'm not doing this. I'm making the rest of us aware of what the JWs are trying to do to influence public opinion in their own favour. Maybe you don't see the advantage of doing this but do we just sit back and continue to do NOTHING!!!? If we can do anything to make the world AWARE of what the JWs do to manipulate things, shouldn't we at least try????

  This issue isn't just about JWs, it involves other churches and non-profit groups. If this poll were influential in changing policy, would we be willing to possibly hurt other non-profits just to spite the WTS?

  This issue IS about the JWs because that's what the poll question is asking. The poll specifies the JWs in asking the public to vote YES or NO to their question. It is not asking us to vote about other non-profit groups...just the JWs. So that's why I'm asking people to answer this poll and give their opinion about whether they think JWs should contribute to their community through taxes or be tax exempt.

  A YES vote says change their status and allow them to become tax exempt which is what the JWs want.

  A NO vote says keep their status as having to pay taxes to the community and NOT BEING TAX EXEMPT.

  What's wrong with trying to keep the playing field even?

  Had Enough
• 

  Honesty

  A copy of the email sent to JW's would be nice.
• 

  Had Enough

  R6laser says:

  Funny how hard some try to bring anything and put a negative spin on it. This is a newspaper poll, so nothing to do with politics

  How are we trying to put a negative spin on this. I simply related what the JWs themselves are urging each other to do. Their own emails are urging other JWs to vote in this opinion poll because as one said "the brothers are asking as many witnesses as possible to vote yes. If you want to vote on it, it would help to give a good public response."

  Yes it is only an opinion poll but this poll is being used to find out public opinion which will be considered when it comes time to make a "political decision".

  Even funnier how a comment was made that JW's are trying to sway the vote to YES, but in the same token here we are trying to do the same thing to sway the vote to NO.

  I don't find this funny at all. If the JWs ARE "trying to sway the vote to YES" by getting as many other JWs as possible to add their YES vote to the count...does that mean we should just sit back and watch?....or should we maybe TRY to even things out a bit by adding our opinion to the vote. That's all this opinion poll is asking....just what does the public think about this subject.

  Sometimes I just don't get it. Many of us have spent the majority of our lives locked into this "yes master"..."whatever you say master"..."no questions asked and no opposing opinion offered" type of thinking. When we finally break free of it, what do we do? Do we sit back and just watch others waste their lives in this kind of thinking or do we try to do whatever we can to try to stir things up a little at a time.... no matter how little it is or how insignificant it may seem to be to others?

  Had Enough (of the "I want to do whatever I can, no matter how little it is, to hopefully help someone to start thinking on their own" class)