Some of the property is valuable - however, I'm not sure about the factories, given that they were bought from companies
that wanted out from NYC to begin with ( rustbelt stuff).
A lot of the donated property is quickly sold off for cash. My main point is, that if they really were as rich as everyone thinks,
I doubt you'd be seeing these kinds of cuts in spending. Their increase is in the third world where there's lots of needs ($) -
and the money is provided by countries with deepening apathy like Germany, The US and Japan.
A number of these changes came after they got an outside accounting. Obviously, some changes were needed to bring things
into balance. As an elder told me, "with subscriptions gone, they're OK now!" Yes, I thought, until the next settlement
or drop in contributions.
We also NOW know that their volunteer labor isn't economically effective, at least in the factory. Their productivity
doesn't equal what 'worldly' printing firms can do, so outsourcing is being looked at. So, that labor is not an advantage.
It's a complex picture - but I think you can discern that something has gone wrong with their income
and continues to get worse. As more Witnesses get tired and fed-up, how many of them will leave assets
in their wills to the Society? How many are too broke to do so anyway?
metatron