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The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

bbc.com

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Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#21

Post by asdfasgasdgasdg »

symplee wrote: post #16

> [H]e dresses in a suit, pulls out a Bible and urges viewers to pledge a very specific amount of money. "Don't delay, don't delay," he urges, calmly but emphatically ... drawing in viewers who ... are desperate for change. Can you imagine if this kind of stunt were pulled in the secular sphere? An aspiring leader dressed up in a suit, urging viewers to raise a specific amount of money. "Don't delay, donate today!" d…

Ha. I see what you're getting at. It's a little different because politicians actually do have the power to change things. Proof by existence: before there was no ACA, now there is an ACA.

While being a member of a church can probably improve your life in some ways -- a built in community of like-minded people -- it won't directly fix your problems in a way that another community can't. And if you're not using church for community, there is really very little chance that donating will do anything positive for you. At least, if it did, you'd think someone would find evidence of the same.

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#22

Post by rajeshp1986 »

It is not just limited to US. You will be surprised how much of that money goes back to forced conversions in countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. In India, the state of Nagaland has 90% christian population. They destroyed the local cultures and traditions.

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#23

Post by sb057 »

hackerpacker wrote: post #15
sonnyblarney wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For some data points: "When it comes to clergy, new Catholic priests, which includes bishops, can expect a salary somewhere in the mid-$20,000 range, with median salaries varying slightly depending on geography. The highest median salary for a new priest is in the Midwest, at $29,856, while the lowest median salary, $24,960, is found in the Central region, which spans from Minnesota to Texas. The maximum salary for p…

but everything included, so that is basically 35k, tax free, or in a lower tax bracket since so much of the compensation is non monetary, purely disposable. edit, this says the median is 45k https://work.chron.com/much-catholic-priests-paid-12915.html

Bear in mind that while church organizations don't pay taxes, individual employees (including priests) do still pay income tax.

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#24

Post by uncletaco »

sittingnut wrote: post #18

why is this in hn? if it is relevant, would hn link to articles on any selfless acts and charities by the religious(given that in reality hundreds of millions are helped by them)? seems there is an anti christian bias in this sort articles selected by hn; only the ones reflecting badly on christians are allowed.

Google “hacker news atheism” if you want to see unflattering articles about atheist.

Among the first page of results for me include:

“Atheism is inconsistent with the scientific method” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19445855

“You don’t need religion to find /r/atheism obnoxious” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19087955

“When atheists lack the courage of their convictions” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18425245

Also cultural articles are shared and commented on like most everything else that the community here finds interesting. Asking why this is on hacker news is just lazy virtue signaling tbh.

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#26

Post by bduerst »

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #21
symplee wrote: post #16

> [H]e dresses in a suit, pulls out a Bible and urges viewers to pledge a very specific amount of money. "Don't delay, don't delay," he urges, calmly but emphatically ... drawing in viewers who ... are desperate for change. Can you imagine if this kind of stunt were pulled in the secular sphere? An aspiring leader dressed up in a suit, urging viewers to raise a specific amount of money. "Don't delay, donate today!" d…

Ha. I see what you're getting at. It's a little different because politicians actually do have the power to change things. Proof by existence: before there was no ACA, now there is an ACA. While being a member of a church can probably improve your life in some ways -- a built in community of like-minded people -- it won't directly fix your problems in a way that another community can't. And if you're not using church…

Are you saying that organized religion doesn't have the power to influence change? Politicians do not have a monopoly on impact, in fact, I would say that they have become quite inefficient at it.

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#27

Post by [deleted] »

zdw wrote: post #20
sonnyblarney wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For some data points: "When it comes to clergy, new Catholic priests, which includes bishops, can expect a salary somewhere in the mid-$20,000 range, with median salaries varying slightly depending on geography. The highest median salary for a new priest is in the Midwest, at $29,856, while the lowest median salary, $24,960, is found in the Central region, which spans from Minnesota to Texas. The maximum salary for p…

Many churches have traditionally provided housing for their clergy, which makes this pay rate seem somewhat more reasonable.

[deleted]

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#28

Post by Gibbon1 »

vmurthy wrote: post #19
AFascistWorld wrote: post #5

Smart ones profiting off of the masses, like the stock market, or just how the whole world works.

You assume that the whole stock market is a zero-sum game which is patently false. Businesses raise money , many if not all use this money to grow their businesses and return money to shareholders via dividends / buyback. Stock appreciation is a result of this activity. FYI , a dollar invested in S&P index in 1926 was worth 5000+ dollars in 2014 ( http://skloff.com/growth-of-1-dollar-investment-1926-2014/ ). If this…

There is a small army of portfolio managers that under perform index funds year after year. Like almost all of them. And investment banks both selling securities and betting against them at the same time.

The non zero sum part is called the real economy. Which itself is under performing the market.

Or the current crop of tech companies which exist solely to launder negative interest central bank credit.

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#29

Post by [deleted] »

sb057 wrote: post #23
hackerpacker wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but everything included, so that is basically 35k, tax free, or in a lower tax bracket since so much of the compensation is non monetary, purely disposable. edit, this says the median is 45k https://work.chron.com/much-catholic-priests-paid-12915.html

Bear in mind that while church organizations don't pay taxes, individual employees (including priests) do still pay income tax.

[deleted]

Re: The preachers getting rich from poor Americans

#30

Post by rileymat2 »

vmurthy wrote: post #19
AFascistWorld wrote: post #5

Smart ones profiting off of the masses, like the stock market, or just how the whole world works.

You assume that the whole stock market is a zero-sum game which is patently false. Businesses raise money , many if not all use this money to grow their businesses and return money to shareholders via dividends / buyback. Stock appreciation is a result of this activity. FYI , a dollar invested in S&P index in 1926 was worth 5000+ dollars in 2014 ( http://skloff.com/growth-of-1-dollar-investment-1926-2014/ ). If this…

1926 is an intriguing year to start if your goal is to mislead.
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