Watchtower Strains Local Town Budgets (page 2)

rip van winkle

I agree with Listener.

Quid pro quo.

The WT never does anything without wanting/ getting something in return.

gone for good

Rail Trail will be used by Watchtower drones.

Sports fields etc. will be good places for public promotion of JW.bORG as sponsors.

Free bibles ? - nothing is free from Watchtower.

...serving the homeless ? Never.

DATA-DOG

As usual, the WTBTS does "charity" when it suits them. They feed and shelter ZERO homeless people. They have not performed any charitable works that did not somehow benefit THEM.

$50,000 to $90,000 in taxes?!?! That is chump change! That's like stealing Millions and leaving $100,000 on the floor of the bank vault!!

These towns signed a deal with the "Devil."

DD

Vidiot

These days, I'm wondering more and more if the WTS's tax-exempt status is where the barbs and arrows could be most effectively aimed (in conjunction with the pedo problem, obviously).

You don't f**k with the IRS, after all; these are the guys who took down Capone.

I believe we will see some form of actual charity ( worldly style ) in the next 5-10 years. The Pedo cases will likely grow in number and the WTBTS will need to do some PR. They may be forced to do something tangible, not just the occasional tax write-off/insurance kickback, but REAL charity on a regular basis.

I remember brother Loesch stating that charity was very important. This was in a streamed RC talk. It was odd and stood out, after all, JWs don't do charity. Historically its a waste of time. So why did Gerrit ( subpoena dodger ) mention charity at the RC?? Was he laying the groundwork for adjustments that JWs may find hard to understand??? (Wink!!)

Why they haven't done this sooner is beyond me. It's a win/win. Many JWs would love perform actual charity as opposed to failed-circus. I wonder if some of the GB have suggested it over the years? It's a good idea IMO.

If they would continue to mainstream; clean up the Pedo issues, and do some actual charity, then I could almost contemplate remaining a dub. If they did those things, they would more closely resemble all other Xian sects.

DD

OrphanCrow

DataDog: If they would continue to mainstream; clean up the Pedo issues, and do some actual charity, then I could almost contemplate remaining a dub. If they did those things, they would more closely resemble all other Xian sects.

Yeah, then all you would have to do is ignore the doctrine that states everybody else except JWs are rotting bird food and only the JWs are elite - they are special.

And, you might have to ignore the whacked out beliefs respecting blood. No other Xian sect has strange blood beliefs.

pontoon

A little about the taxes in this area. No doubt some of the highest school and property taxes in the nation but definitely not an area with an abundance of well paying jobs. So when Wat buys these properties and takes them off the tax rolls all taxpayers rates have to tick up to make up that difference. A lot of rural area around here and it is not unusual for a person to have more than a few acres of land. I'll use myself as an example. I have 4 acres, house, garage and my school and property tax together is almost $7,000 a year and it goes up every year. School districts are crying every year for more as are the towns and counties and the property owning tax paying citizens around here are taxed to their limit. Many are selling out because they can't afford to live around here anymore. So this tax exempt crap is a serious issue around here. Pontoon from the overtaxed mid Hudson Valley.

Ignoranceisbliss

Pontoon. Thanks for the info. Those taxes do seem extremely high. I pay about 2k a year in taxes on a 175k home. Nowhere near what you are paying. I could see how tax exemption could ruffle some feathers when taxes are that high.

Iggy

Vidiot

Data-Dog - "If they would continue to mainstream..."

Thing is, they're not really mainstreaming; it's all for appearances.

Deep down, they're still the same authoritarian high-control group they've always been; they have, in fact, reiterated this via internal correspondence.

x

Data-Dog - "If they did those things, they would more closely resemble all other Xian sects."

And that's arguably one of the reasons they won't/can't authentically mainstream...

...historically, one of the WTS's defining characteristics has been to appear demonstrably different from other Xtian groups.

(...which, I have to say, is a big reason why JWTV's celebrity GB webchannel evangelism is so f**king weird...)

thedepressedsoul

Man if I took people to court as much as the WT does do you think I'd have any privileges in the congregation?

Tax exempt should be taken away from religions. There should be some things that are exempt but not everything!

Watchtower Strains Local Town Budgets

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