Tuesday 26 January 2010

Jesus invests - badly

I just can’t stop smiling at a Guardian story posted today.
In a nutshell, back in 2007 the Church Commissioners (that’s the C of E’s investors) stuck £40 million into a massive Manhattan property investment.
It wasn’t a nice project. In fact it was one of those gentrification schemes based on winkling people out of the last affordable housing in the area then flogging the homes back to far wealthier trendies who could (but never do) choose to live anywhere but the area you and your neighbours have struggled for decades to make decent.
In fact, it’s a far cry from that socially responsible line the church preaches for others. So much for love thy neighbour and all that. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/25/church-loses-40m-in-new-york for the gory details.
Never mind. Forty mill down, but at least they learnt a valuable lesson, i.e. that good triumphs over evil, and people who stick together can see off greedy foreign developers who would destroy lives and communities for quick profits.

1 comment:

valdemar said...

I missed that story - thanks for flagging it up. Something to bear in mind, and publicise widely, when the CofE puts out the begging bowl to the taxpayer.

Still, I daresay they lost out when slavery was abolished, as well.