Believe or not - 233 Houston-area churches received forgivable federal loans of $150,000 or more (Dallas: attorney, luxury)

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

No, it was not "mean", it was the law. The PPP loan law clearly stated that the organization applying for the loan cannot have more than 500 employees. Planned Parenthood far exceeds that number, and the affiliates of PP were fraudulently trying to get 'free' money from the government they were not entitled to by saying they were independent. The problem there is, all their past actions, litigation, etc., was paid for by the main organization. You cannot have it both ways.

Ok ... so why did Catholic Churches get PPP money?

Here’s how the Catholic Church got $1.4 billion in Paycheck Protection Program money

An Associated Press analysis has found that a special exemption to the 500-employee cap set the stage for approval of at least $1.4 billion for groups affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, making it one of the program’s big winners. Many of those millions are going to pay salaries and other expenses in dioceses that recently paid huge financial settlements to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Lobbied by religious leaders, the Trump administration went one step further by granting all faith groups a special waiver to the 500-employee cap. For the Catholic Church, that meant instead of all churches, schools, and other organizations in a diocese grouping their employees into a single total — making many ineligible due to their size — each could apply as an independent, “small” entity.

As a result, AP found, at least 3,500 Catholic organizations qualified for loans that the government will forgive if recipients spend the money on payroll, rent, and utilities. Loans to Catholic entities that AP identified were worth at least $1.4 billion — and as much as $3.5 billion.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I also appreciate what they do for the poor,
But you need to understand that churches, especifically, the ones with millionaire pastors
not paying taxes, defund public services and then show up with crumbs of bread claiming to be heroes
Just like Maduro in Venezuela

Don't forget churches like the one in Dallas with a $7 million fountain that has a security guard to keep the homeless away. Just like Jesus would do, right?

[C24L]

I am a Christian and I dont think churches should get tax dollars in the form of bailouts

[a_guerrajr]

This is why I don't care to be a member of a church.
Most churches are mega structures with high end finishes.

[Dopo]

I already didn't like giving money to churches because I feel like they are ran like a business
where the #1 goal is to make money and everything else comes second.

It's complete BS that they don't pay taxes to help the community where they are
and it's insanely ridiculous that now they get hundres of thousands of tax dollars when they are struggling financially.

I can tell you this ..... I'm never again giving a dime to a church.
I'll give it to the poor, charities, etc.

[bu2]

So this is just a thread for people to display their bigotry against Christians and churches.

I'm guessing it would be unconstitutional to allow non-profit organizations to get the money while excluding churches.
The legislators clearly intended for non tax paying entities to get money. There's no anger on this thread against legislators, only churches (except for one obligatory anti-Trump rant).

[Hopeful for Life]

Originally Posted by bu2

So this is just a thread for people to display their bigotry against Christians and churches.

I'm guessing it would be unconstitutional to allow non-profit organizations to get the money while excluding churches.
The legislators clearly intended for non tax paying entities to get money. There's no anger on this thread against legislators, only churches (except for one obligatory anti-Trump rant).

Nobody is advocating destruction of Christians or Christianity. It is merely their refusal to pay any kind of taxes that would help the communities where they operate. How many other “non-profit” organizations occupy huge swaths of valuable land in virtually every city across the country? In my hometown, I would constantly see people planning their marketing strategy (advertising, grass roots) to attract new customers. That is a FOR PROFIT business. It is a far cry from what we remember in years past.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by bu2

So this is just a thread for people to display their bigotry against Christians and churches.

Sorry for criticizing the freeloaders that don't pay taxes and then get tax dollars

Sure, blame the politicians
As if we don't know that money is politician's only motivator and that's how churches got their money


https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ho...ney-2020-07-10

A lobbying campaign

Initially, faith groups had limited eligibility under the law Congress passed. They were still subject to the “affiliation rule,” which meant only dioceses or other Catholic organizations with fewer than 500 people employed across often-vast territories could apply.

That rule was changed after lobbying by religious groups including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, whose leader is the president of the conference. The Catholic News Service reported that the bishops’ conference and several major Catholic nonprofit agencies worked the week of March 30 to ensure that religious groups would not be limited.

In a written statement, bishops’ conference spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said including faith groups was a matter of fairness. She also acknowledged lobbying by the conference, which she said, “regularly works with Congress and the administration on legislation and regulations of concern to the bishops, including the emergency relief that is being provided during the pandemic.”

[jerbear30]

It's true that there are a lot of corrupt churches that will be misusing the money. I don't contest that. I just think that we shouldn't leave any of our houses of worship (Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, whatever) out of the economic relief conversation. There ARE churches that are hurting and that really will need the money. I'm fine if we leave the Second Baptist mega-compounds out of it personally. I abhor them and consider them an absolute corruption of Christianity. But that's my view and I don't see how we could discriminate based on one preference or the other. We could go to some sort of means-tested model, or we could simply cap the funding at what the average church needs to recoup, and then not worry about the mega-churches. I guess I would be ok with that, but I wouldn't be ok with punishing the Second Baptists just because I don't like them, even though I myself very much do not like them.

[lipbalm]

Who cares it's all monopoly money at this point.