Money, money, money

After spending my hard earned cash (okay, I used credit) tonight, I was struck with the idea: Where do Jedi get their funding from? It seemed to me that it would be against Jedi code to accept money from people. But none of them looked like beggars anyway.

It can't be cheap to build a light saber. And robes don't just grow on trees. And food. And transportation. And money to blow on blue-headed strippers.

It must be coming from somewhere.

 

maybe they get paid by the senate or taxes. they are kinda like the police of the galaxy so thats a job which has to bring in money.

 

LB brought this up last night at Media Play and I suggested it would make an excellent discussion topic.

I thought of them being funded by the Senate and/or the Supreme Chancellor since they were on a mission from here at the start of EP I. But would the Jedi, who follow a strict moral code, want to be beholden to a political body by accepting payment for their services?

 

It is quite obvious. Jedi mind tricks, which work well on the weak minded Senators.

Jedi to Senate Appropriations Committee: *waves hands* You will give us all the money we need.

Senate Appropriations Committee in unison: We will give you all the money you need.

Jedi to Senate Appropriations Committee: *waves hands some more* We need money to build us a spiffy new temple with a fleet of starfighters.

Senate Appropriations Committee in unison: We will give you money to to build a spiffy new Jedi temple complete with a fleet of starfighters

Yoda: Jedi mind tricks, I like. Weak minded politicians, easily controlled, they are. Hmmmm. A new gimer stick, I need. More money, we need.



Seriously, though, I believe that they are funded by the Republic, because they are basically Ambassadors and keepers of the peace (basically a UN) for the Republic. The government (such as the US government) provides housing, food and compensation for their representatives and keepers of the peace. Either that, or they just use Jedi mind tricks to get their money.

 

however, jedi are keepers of the peace. i think with all the money they'd be losing to the jedi there would hardly be any peace

 

how do cops get paid? how do politicians get paid? how do ahem military members get paid? by the government...meaning your tax money (don't you feel good knowing my paycheck comes from your pocket...wait...my paycheck comes from MY pocket too...wtf?).

Anyway, I'm guessing they're funded by taxes like any government agency. Nobody would really feel they're losing money to the Jedi b/c they're just paying their taxes. Do you really stop and think about how you're losing money to the police or military?

 

Regardless of the services they volunteer to the Republic, I don't think they see themselves as the military.

They are an order, pretty much a religious one. The Jesuits historically have served a very useful role as teachers, but the government doesn't fund the Jesuits, a more apt analogy in my opinion.

 

I don't know. I would say they're involved with the government the way they're interacting with the chancellor and senate at the first of AOTC. I wasn't saying that they are the military, just that they'd be funded the same way through taxes and what have you.

 

it said in the book rogue planet that that many people make donations to the jedi. and in the book it said that several billion creds is just a few percentage points of the jedi bank account. so they must have allot of rich fans or know how to make a killer investment.

 

Farseeing, does wonders for the stockmarket. Plus when people see the Jedi investing "They must be on to something" and invest as well making the stock go up anyway.

 

It's probably closer to reality. In the Roman Catholic Church, enormous amounts of money pour in every minute by the devoted legions to ensure the Vatican never falters. I would surmise that with the vast charitable wealth of a Galaxy, funding the Jedi via that route is no biggie.

 

they might sevretly steal it from people

 

I think the Jedi are like the CIA...within the law, but still above it. Know what I mean. AND they are their own branch of protection who do whatever they want. Sound good to anyone?

 

I'd guess theres a combination of gov't funding, private donations, investments (a thousand generations is a lot of time to let an investment mature) and probably a variety of prices they've picked up in various ways throughout history that are now valuable. As was mentioned before, I'm basing part of this on the operations of the Catholic Church, without going into some of the details of how the CHurch aquired some of their prizes.

 

I just want some