Borg Cost cutting measures...can you think of others?

by SnakesInTheTower 20 Replies latest watchtower scandals

  • SnakesInTheTower
    SnakesInTheTower

    I was reflecting on the other thread (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/11/135961/2.ashx) about the new Koolaid Watchtower....and thinking about this being more of an overall cost cutting measure than any kind of Old Light repackaged as Special Lite.......can you think of any other examples?

    A FEW EXAMPLES: no more subscriptions (no more yellow envelopes, no more yellow, blue, green, pink forms). No more postages sending individual magazines.

    Kingdom Ministry now sent in same box as magazines rather than separate roll of KMs to PO house. (more postage saved). CD/MP3 of Craptower and Awake magazines instead of cassettes (cant wait til they say, just download them yourself, save us the shipping costs)

    Non-sensitive (but still BOE only) Society letters sent through COs as PDF file via email to congo POs and secretaries (10,000 US letters @ $.41 =$4100 per letter not sent, plus envelopes, paper, ink, handling, etc.) I personally received these PDF letters as secretary.....so I know its true.

    Literature sent to Literature Depots in Watchtower Trucks Common Carrier LTL (less than Load) instead of individual congos... (more shipping charges saved, no more use of Society trucks) ....I personally observed 75% decrease in literature shipments at our Lit Depot because of the next 2 items:

    Less literature printed because: only 1 new paperback (instead of hardback) released at each DC...others items not released until Sept at congo.....(less to print/ship paperbacks)

    WT Library CD ROM: ploy to get the R&F to order less hardback vinyl cover WT Bound Volumes Borg Corrected Reprints yet make same donation to the Worldwide Pediphile Settlement Work(and it seems to be working)

    No more Price List Publications List since this catalog is now online for literature ordering (https://www.jw.org/ ...go ahead, but you need a password..any hackers?) ...field reports/Memorial reports also sent through this site. (no more forms to print, ship, open, process, meaning less Bethelites Borg Volunteers needed....)

    I say, and I hate to give credit to the Borg, but absolutely fu*ki*g brilliant...LOL as OUTLAW says!

    SnakesInTheTower (of the "still not donating" Sheep Class)

  • Scully
    Scully

    How about moving conventions to smaller venues where they can negotiate more favorable terms, like free parking, and where there are not as many options for delegates to leave the site to get meals at restaurants.

    I'm convinced that this is one of the main reasons why the convention was moved from the city where I live to a city about 1/3 the size about an hour's drive away. When the conventions were here, there are several really nice restaurants within walking distance, plus a good selection of fast food and specialty coffee houses etc. The arena is situated in a very scenic location and we used to go picnicking at lunch time during the conventions. Now that the venues are wise to the tactic of the WTS refusing to use the concessions, and having Simplified™ the meal service arrangement to Spiritual Food™ only on site , I'm sure the negotiations became a lot tougher for the WTS.

    FYI: The local venue that had been used for conventions for over 20 years seats about 10K people, the venue that is used now only seats about 5K.

  • Scully
    Scully

    Complex Welcomes 16,000 Witnesses

    The Civic Complex will host once again the annual Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which will see 16,000 delegates come to Cornwall, spread over four weekends.

    The first English-speaking convention will take place on June 8-10 and will see over 4,200 people attend. A second English-speaking convention for another 4,300 Witnesses takes place from June 15 to June 17. The following two conventions will welcome 7,600 French-speaking members of the Christian congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These will be held June 22-24 and June 29 to July 1 st.

    "This is our ninth year in Cornwall", added Don Walters, the organization’s Ottawa based news service representative. "Our first convention was attended by 5,000 people in 1998. We then grew to two, then three, and now this year for the first time we are holding four conventions in Cornwall."

    The gatherings in Cornwall are part of 37 district conventions taking place in 23 cities throughout Canada. Complete conventions will be held, apart from English and French, in Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL) and Quebec Sign Language (QSL).

    The convention theme is "Follow the Christ!"

    Walters further said: "The convention program will emphasize the unique role of Jesus in God’s purpose for ridding the world of wickedness and to bring about a peaceful world. The Friday morning program will take this one step further with the welcome talk answering the important question, "Why Follow ‘the Christ’?"

    The Saturday morning’s highlight will be baptism program for those who qualify. Their being baptized symbolizes their dedication to Jehovah, and their ordination as ministers. Leading up to the baptism program will be a study of the way Jesus performed his ministry in the symposium "Follow Jesus’ Pattern in the Ministry."

    The Sunday morning program will include a talk we believe the public will appreciate. It is "Who Are The Real Followers of Christ?" The afternoon highlight is a full-costume Bible drama based on an account in the life of prophet Elisha.

    The public is invited to attend any or all of the sessions at the Civic Complex. Each morning the sessions will begin at 9:20. On Friday and Saturday, the afternoon sessions will begin at 2:00 o'clock. Sunday the afternoon session will begin at 1:30.

    "We are delighted to host this important event once again", said Janice Robinson, Facilities Rental Coordinator.

    See the official web site of Jehovah's Witnesses at

    www.watchtower.org

    (Page last modified 2007-05-15 11:12:43.0)

  • VanillaMocha73
    VanillaMocha73

    Hackers??? Woo hoo.

  • VanillaMocha73
    VanillaMocha73

    OK.. Here are their servers:

    Guess I'd better not say more huh? LOL - sorry - I'm in network troubleshooting....
  • steve2
    steve2

    I have a memory that the Watchtower branch office in India was closed a few years ago to save money. As you may be aware, JWs have never really had a big impact in India which was one of the first foreign countries that the Amercian Watchtower missionaries went to (even before the 1900s). Despite decade after decade of hard slog, they number just a few thousand in a country whose population is close to a billion. Look at the ratio of JWs to population in that country!

  • bobxkawasaki
    bobxkawasaki

    I quit them about ten years ago. A that time they had begun using artificial plants instead of live plants for the dramas, which saved money.

    They were shifting from hardback books to softbacks.

    They had gotten rid of meals made and sold at the conventions.

    A friend working at Bethel in Brooklyn said the guy bossing around the cooks kept muttering that they must be extra careful with every morsel of food so as to save money.

    They were beginning to beg for more donations money including money willed to them. This seemed more common in the winter months and came in the form of platform talks at the kingdom halls and there was also more money needed talk at conventions.

  • OnTheWayOut
    OnTheWayOut
    They had gotten rid of meals made and sold at the conventions.

    That was not a cost-saving effort. Meals were profit until the complete-donation arrangement.
    Shortly after, they didn't see the voluntary donations going up alot to cover the "free of charge" meals.

    They started way back with printing on each continent instead of shipping worldwide from NYC.
    They moved printing out of NYC to get newer presses in Wallkill and sent many Bethelites packing for home.
    There's the reduction in Awakes, and soon in Watchtowers. I imagine the OKM will find it's way into the new
    Watchtower for members only.

    Years back, there was the basic designs for quickbuild KH's. Now, they have KH's built in foreign (poor) lands
    that must pay back the loan over years.

    They have seized Disaster Relief from locals so that they can save costs. The Borg organizes this, tells everyone
    there is a need, such as Katrina Relief, but send "money only." They decide how much to spend on supplies
    and keep telling all the congregations to send more "money only."

  • Fat Greg
    Fat Greg

    I know of 2 bethelites from my congregation who went home after the WT downsize. one of them was over 50 years old (I didn't his exact age but he served for over 24 years and moved from BK to Paterson and eventually to wallkill where they sent him home from)this might be a little off topic but, besides the fact that he's over 50 he had no marketable skills coming out of bethel service.....I wonder what he has to do now to make ends meet. take note that plans to bring in the new printing press were around for years, they had all the bethelites working overtime sometimes double time to welcome the new press, and a few months after its up and running and all the troubleshooting is worked out they start letting people go under the premise that "more brothers and sisters are needed in the field because the end is near" rubbish!

  • steve2
    steve2

    I bet the money managers at Bethel lament the absence of tithing among the rank and file. That would solve so many of their money woes.

    Say what you like about the great tithing religions such as the Mormons and 7th Day Adventists, et al., they're able to put their considerable funds into projects that are of actual benefit to those both inside and outside their respective faiths. By contrast, the Watchtower has a mean-spirited approach which results in Bethel-slaves being sent packing when they're no longer needed to work round the clock.

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