It’s fun to spend other people’s money. The scenario most of us are familiar with is eating out on company business. When you and a colleague are wining and dining a client or when you and a couple office mates are taking a contractor or consultant out to lunch — you go to a nice restaurant, order appetizers and dessert as well as overpriced entrees, and get something fancy to drink. Does food taste better when someone else is paying? Sometimes it seems like it. But getting a nice meal paid for by the company pales in comparison to other spending scenarios.

Trump loves to spend other people’s money. Almost daily, he shows off golden photos of the planned ballroom/bunker that he hopes to build before leaving office. Initially, it was supposed to be a couple of hundred million dollars, paid for by donations, a typical Trumpian screwy and frankly corrupt way to run the government (because of course individuals or corporations that donate to Trump’s project get some sort of favorable treatment in return). Now it has morphed into a billion-dollar project paid for by you and me and millions of other taxpayers. For Trump, it’s still other people’s money, so it’s still fun. You, on the other hand, might have strong feelings about the project, as well as Trump’s quick move (before anyone could stop it) to demolish half the White House to make way for his planned ballroom/bunker.

What about LDS finances? When the Big 15 plus the Presiding Bishopric get together to make financial decisions — approving budgets, approving projects, approving investments — they are spending other people’s money. Once upon a time, it was my money and your money. Once it gets washed through various accounts and LDS investments, it feels more like “LDS money.” Many LDS leaders probably think of it as God’s money. But however you describe it, for the leadership it is still other people’s money. Here is the surprising thing: On the whole, they are fairly responsible in spending other people’s money.

Here’s a big difference between the Trumpian way of spending other people’s money and the LDS way of spending other people’s money: Trump is happy to cut taxes (largely benefitting people who don’t need tax breaks) while bloating up spending on his pet projects (ICE thuggery, vanity projects, war with Iran, all of which are unpopular with the electorate) and ramping up the US national debt. He doesn’t care. Dealing with inflation and the national debt will be someone else’s problem, since he only has three years (or less!) left in office. Trump’s financial policy is utterly irresponsible and we (you, me, and every other taxpayer) are going to be left holding the bag and dealing with the financial chaos lurking not that far down the road. I wonder what egg voters (people who voted for Trump because they were unhappy paying a buck or two more for a dozen eggs) think when they fill their gas tank this week.

On the other hand, one can argue that the LDS approach to spending other people’s money is fairly responsible and (to use the word in a non-political sense) conservative. Apart from building temples left, right, and center, LDS spending is fairly restrained. Tithing revenue, plus investment income from invested tithing surplus built up over the years, exceeds LDS spending by a significant margin at this point. Result: the Hundred Billion Dollar Fund. That’s my title, it’s not necessarily an accurate accounting. I think it is in the hundreds of billions by this point.

Big projects? The Conference Center, but that seems like a great venue for General Conference, much better than the Tabernacle where Conference was held for generations. Wooden benches, limited seating, awful circulation. City Creek Shopping? I know a lot of people object to this project, but it’s clear LDS leaders want to keep downtown Salt Lake, particularly near Temple Square, a friendly area for visitors and pedestrians. And let’s keep in mind the difference between an investment and an expenditure. The City Creek billion or two doesn’t really bother me. Temple Square and downtown SLC is still a nice place to visit. You can’t say that about too many other downtowns.

You can actually make the argument that the Church significantly underspends other people’s money (our money, donated through tithing). What else could they do? They could expand chapel design to provide more services to the membership, first childcare but you can think of others. Give missionaries a real office in every chapel maybe. Go visit a megachurch campus or two to get some ideas. Instead, chapels are largely unused during the week. Beef up the capital side of the LDS missionary force: give every team a car, for example. The labor side of the LDS missionary force is largely free (donated) voluntary labor. You could beef up local ward and stake budgets significantly, like very significantly, a move that might support the slowly waning sense of community most people seem to feel in their ward and stake.

[Aside: It’s economic wisdom that underpriced factors get overused. Free missionary labor plus expensive capital would lead you to expect a system that overuses labor and underinvests in capital like cars, offices, computers, and phones. That’s just what you get with the LDS missionary system. If the Church had to pay missionaries, drastic changes would follow! And probably a much more efficient system.]

There is another consequence of too much money and not enough spending. The LDS Church is not a for-profit corporation. Profits don’t get paid out to shareholders, which is why the Hundred Billion Dollar Fund just keeps growing. If you can’t find enough objects of expenditure given the substantial revenue that comes in, a not-for-profit corporation should return some of the money to donors and stop soliciting more donations. Not-for-profits are not supposed to garner huge surpluses. They are supposed to use the money for the charitable objectives that guide the operation of the entity and attract donations from supporting donors.

If the Church can’t spend all the money, the simple solution is to cut tithing to 8% or less. Or let local leaders hand out tithing exemptions to deserving members. Worst case scenario: If the Hundred Billion Dollar Fund turns into the Trillion Dollar Fund, sooner or later the government will step in and do something about it. In case you don’t read much history, know that is something governments do from time to time. “Let us help you spend other people’s money, since you don’t seem able to spend it all yourself.” That’s not what anyone wants. So either spend more money or reduce revenue or return the surplus to the membership. This is not the Church of Scrooge McDuck.

What do you think?

  • Do you like spending other people’s money?
  • Are you mildly offended or deeply offended by the growing list of Trump vanity projects we (taxpayers) and apparently paying for?
  • Do you think the Church should spend more money? On what?
  • Do you think the Church should reduce incoming donations? How exactly?
  • Thinking clearly and objectively about the Hundred Billion Dollar Fund, what should we do with the money? Just letting it sit and grow in the bank and in investments until the end of the world just doesn’t seem like a responsible financial plan.