Late last year, we got some eye-opening reports on how hard the pandemic has been on Scientology from someone inside the organization. We dubbed them The Insider, and they told us about chaos caused by Covid, new details on the ‘Chase Wave’ financial debacle, a detailed description of the Ideal Org scam, and predicted the new ‘Golden Age of Admin’ that was on the way. Now they wanted to give us another update, this time about the Ideal Org program going through some changes. – T.O.
It is rather well established that the “Ideal Org program” is a monumental failure in that it has not resulted in any “expansion” for Scientology – unless you’re counting square feet of real estate, which Miscavige certainly is.
What has also been suspected is that the “cost” of these new buildings are grossly inflated. Many of the furnishings are produced in house by Sea Org members [read: enslaved workers] at a cost far less than would be attainable in the real world with all those “pesky labor laws.”
In my previous writings on the Ideal Org program I stated “If the actual cost exceeded 40 percent of the total funds raised, I would be surprised. It’s likely less.” Now I have confirmation of my suspicions.
Scientology claims that the Ideal Org program is a roaring success. Anyone that’s been on staff has at some point looked around at the abysmal state of their Ideal Org and thought “The way all these other orgs are expanding, we must be the worst org on the planet!” The big joke is that everyone has that same thought, and no one is expanding.
Long before the building is staffed and opened, the public spend years fundraising with the promise of unprecedented expansion in their city. If you are on staff in an Ideal Org today, it’s almost certain you weren’t there during the fundraising. Most of the staff are shipped in from all over the country and world, as there simply aren’t enough public to man it up locally.
As difficult as it is to staff an org when you have so few participants, it’s easy enough to shuffle around staff from here and there; or failing that simply fill it with Sea Org members as has been done in Columbus, Kansas City, and Orlando.
But when it comes to fundraising, you can’t just shuffle money around like staff – and as the whole point is to extract wealth – the burden falls on the local public.
This has usually been accomplished over a relatively short time period (in Scientology years), about a decade or so. I’ve previously detailed the methods used to obtain money from broke public known as the “Chase Wave.” But that particular scheme is no longer in place. So, what now? How is Miscavige to continue the ruse? The answer to that has come from several Scientology insiders in South Africa.
As I will illustrate, what’s happening in South Africa demonstrates two potential things:
Without the Chase Wave, opening new Ideal Orgs in the USA is practically impossible; at least in the way its been done so far. And Miscavige is aware of this, and is enacting a new plan that will continue to allow Scientology to claim that it’s growing, while the only actual growth is square feet of real estate.
From roughly 2014 to 2019 in the USA, virtually all Ideal Orgs were mostly funded by local public obtaining credit cards or bank loans. This was incredibly successful at fleecing the public of money they don’t even have. Prior to that, it was funded by the wealthiest among local and then national and even international Scientologists. But that well eventually ran dry, which necessitated the Chase Wave scheme.
In 2019, Miscavige removed all Sea Org Registrars from post – for no other reason than the banks were catching on and it was causing a “flap.”
Without this fraudulent scheme in place, Scientology is finding it much more difficult to come up with the tens of millions “needed” to open new Ideal Orgs.
Aside from Johannesburg and Johannesburg North, Ideal Orgs yet to open in South Africa include Port Elizabeth, Durban, and Cape Town.
Unlike the US – which hands out credit cards like candy on Halloween – “coming up with money” in South Africa means having the cash. And as there are so few Scientologists in South Africa – and even fewer with any money – Miscavige has had to adjust his strategy.
The first major change in his new “pilot program” is that instead of raising all the funds and then starting the renovations, they now raise the funds as they go, and do the construction in phases.
According to an insider in Cape Town, the org is well underway in terms of construction, while the funds raised have not yet passed the halfway mark.
The second major change is that the “cost” of the entire project has been cut significantly. And this is the big one.
A 10 percent drop would be believable, 20 percent a little suspect, and anything approaching 30 percent or higher completely farfetched. Especially when you consider that the “cost” is a hard number given to the local org by the Int Landlord’s Office, and in many cases was set over a decade ago. Not to mention, prices in construction have only gone up in recent years.
But the prices weren’t dropped by 10, 20, or even 30 percent, they were reduced by 66 percent.
And not just in one case, but in every org still needing renovation in Africa. All three projects were cut by two thirds. Port Elizabeth for instance, for the last decade has been fundraising with a target of nearly $20 Million Dollars. That was cut down to just over $6 Million. Cape Town and Durban – which were similarly priced – were also cut by two thirds.
South African Scientologists are being told that the cost was off for various reasons. It’s easily blamed on “SPs” – now removed of course – and no one asks any further.
Not only were the prices cut down, but in the case of Port Elizabeth, the work is done. The building – like Chicago and Austin – stands completed and empty awaiting the return of their staff from Flag.
This demonstrates that Scientology previously marked up the cost of the Ideal Org by 300 percent. Given these three cases as evidence, it would not be a stretch to conclude that all Ideal Orgs were similarly marked up. Which as I previously posited, is the actual purpose of Ideal Orgs.
It also shows how desperate Miscavige is to keep up the lie that Scientology is expanding. By renovating the orgs at the actual cost, Miscavige is giving up his take.
Previously, if the actual cost were $8 Million, at a 300 percent markup the public would be required to raise $24 Million – nearly $16 Million of which would go straight to Sea Org reserves.
By giving this up, Miscavige will be able to open a whole gaggle of orgs at once and claim “unprecedented global expansion,” when the reality is, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Miscavige may think he’s getting away with it, but the South African Scientologists still in and under the radar say differently. Public have noticed the obvious absurdity of these recent changes.
Whereas before, every new Ideal Org was making tens of millions for Miscavige, they’re now being done at cost. While the Sea Org will still own the buildings and therefore gain an asset, the massive markup is no longer feasible. Dave’s Golden Goose is dead. Another nail solidly in the coffin of the Church of David Miscavige.
– The Insider
Short video message from the proprietor
We have one more day off before the Danny Masterson trial resumes in Los Angeles. Yesterday, we sent out a short video message to subscribers to tide everyone over. This morning we’re releasing it to everyone.
Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:
Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology
Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain
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Hey Tony, thanks as always for keeping my mornings interesting! Today’s “Avast Ye Mateys” was a gut punch, though. You quote Hubbard as saying “The enemy must not be permitted to cut income off from our local friends because Jewish international bankers hate anyone who help such a country as this.” I don’t ever remember seeing such raw antisemitism. Damn. Whole new side of the monster I once worshipped.
Willful ignorance is the only thing keeping scientologists in these days. This Ideal Org scam has been going on for decades and its abundantly apparent that these Ideal Orgs did not give birth to baby Class V Orgs and they, in turn, did not give birth to new Missions, as could have been predicted if one just rubbed two brain cells together.
I wonder who will be there to pull the ribbons in david miscavige's stead, since he can no longer show up in person. Oh well, he'll kick that can down the road until he comes to it.