beastie wrote:Most bankruptcies are the result of either an unanticipated significant health crisis and subsequent bill, or divorce. It's living on the edge and the lack of a cushion to protect people from these unexpected costs that result in bankruptcy.
Of course tithing is not the sole culprit, but in trying to explain why Utah has the highest bankruptcy rate, it must be considered a factor.
Of course tithing must be considered a factor (does anyone know if the bankruptcy court in Utah has pressured the church to refund tithing of those in bankruptcy? Seems to me like I remember this was discussed somewhere a few years ago), but I don't think it's the most important factor. I think living beyond one's means is the most important factor. And I think Utah has lots and lots of people who live beyond their means on a daily basis, because they think they deserve to live that way because they paid their tithes. And that's simply not the way it works. No one deserves what they can't afford.
I remember when a friend of mine built a new house about 10 years ago. She was the then-bishop's wife, and she informed me (I was living in a 1400 sq ft double wide trailer at the time) that she deserved to have her 5000 sq ft house. Deserved. And when her taxes came out that first year, she went into shock. How dare they value her home so ridiculously high! That was so unfair; she didn't deserve to have to pay those taxes. They still live in that house, with its 3 stories, 8 bedrooms, and 6 baths, but it broke them; her husband lost the farm and has to drive 30 miles to work for the city now. I wonder if she still thinks she deserves what she got.