Tuesday, October 19, 2010

"Church Revenue Drops 30% In 2009"

Crystal Cathedral                                 Image via Wikipedia
There's an article about the bankruptcy of the Crystal Cathedral. Setting aside the issue of megachurches, the part that caught my attention was this statement: "The church saw revenue drop roughly 30 percent in 2009".


Businesses are hurting. Churches are hurting. And federal governments are spending like a drunken sailor. I suspect church giving may be a pretty good barometer of the health of an economy. I wonder if the revenues in the lives of these givers is down 30%, or if this is more of a pessimism measure -- hoarding more, giving less?


Point being, with government expenditures artificially buoying up the economy, nobody knows how bad it really is "out there". Without this stimulus, where would we actually be?  And let's not forget, when the party's over, someone has to pay the bill.


All the while, the stock market is going up, up, up.


Seems an irrational disconnect to me.


Any thoughts?
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The stock market is going up because there is so much money floating around and also because of optimism that things can really change because the Democrats will be hurt so badly in November. Unfortunately Obama will still be there and he shows no signs of wanting to change his agenda, au contaire. He will be able to blame the Republicans in the future for blocking his 'efforts' to fix things.

The Fed is playing a dangerous game - if ever the inflation mentality kicks in the unions will demand higher salaries and Obama will do everything he can to help them.

Can't say I'm sorry to see cathedrals like this suffering. Don't think Jesus would approve of these palaces.

Anonymous said...

“The stock market is going up up” because big companies are global, their bottom line is improving because of productivity gains which means they produce more without hiring in North America. That’s all good for companies but not so good for the unemployed. Plus it worries even those who are employed. So unlike Big Government, people spend/give less during the uncertainty.

Also the market is going up because there is hope for changing the Obamarx gang’s anti-business, anti success ideology.

nomdeblog

"... nothing intellectually compelling or challenging.. bald assertions coupled to superstition... woefully pathetic"