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Counting On Season Two- Part 3


samurai_sarah

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1 hour ago, montyollie said:

Longtime FJ lurker, new member here *waves to everyone*

I wanted to add one thing to the "Duggar girls are unemployable" line that sometimes gets bandied about here... The girls actually DO have really good paid jobs.  They are reality teevee stars.  Stats say the family was paid $25-45K per episode and there were 227 episodes filmed.  Surely some of that money had to have been put into trust as they were the stars of the show.  I am pretty sure there are laws about parents spending money of kids who are child actors or performers.

On the new show (Counting On), Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Anna and Joy are the "stars" and they are all adults, so they would have signed their own contracts with TLC for income for their roles in the show.

Also, four oldest girls wrote a book and have residuals from that.

They probably make more than I do.  They are cash cows.  They are by no means "unemployable" who will need husbands to get part time jobs to keep up their thrift store habits.

First: hi! Glad you decided to officially join! :pb_smile:

My thoughts on the matter:

And if the shows are cancelled? If the book deals dry up (like the Seewalds' speaking appearances appear to)? What then? 

We all know that they make money off the show and the book. I don't think anyone denies that. What's up for debate is how much is made, who gets that money, if the now-adults ever saw a penny of the "19 Kids" money, etc. 

What we are concerned about, however, is what happens if the "Counting On" and book money goes away. How will they support themselves and their families, especially if they have a ton of kids like their parents did? Do they and their spouses have the education and/or skills needed to keep everyone fed and clothed?

I discussed something similar about the Bates and Duggar in-laws recently. When it comes to the Duggars, all three son-in-laws (current and future) can fall back on their educations if needed - which is good, but depends on whether they'd be willing to suck it up and work or not. JD seems to keep relatively busy and seems capable enough, so I don't think he'd have any serious issues. As for the other sons - jury is out on Josiah and Joseph because we don't really know too much about what they do. And Josh is fairly fucked - no college education, seems rather lazy, is best known for molesting his sisters as a teen, and I honestly think his only skills include being a cheating asshole that used to abuse social media on a regular basis. He must be doing something now to earn money, but it's not going to be the type of money he saw from the old show or FRC.

As for the daughters and Anna? I don't think any of them are really capable of providing for themselves to be honest. They may have some skills, but they lack any real education thanks to their parents and their cult really tries to prevent women from working outside the home. Maybe some of them could find ways to make money within Gothard guidelines (like how Erin Paine records and sells music), but I'm not sure if they'd be able to support a family on it or if they would even want to.

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4 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

First: hi! Glad you decided to officially join! :pb_smile:

What we are concerned about, however, is what happens if the "Counting On" and book money goes away. How will they support themselves and their families, especially if they have a ton of kids like their parents did? Do they and their spouses have the education and/or skills needed to keep everyone fed and clothed?

How could I stay away??  You guys are awesome.  Given me MANY MANY hours of enjoyment with the recaps and analysis.  LOL

I think a lot of large fundy families live very hand to mouth existences, with 15 people in three bedroom houses, that sort of thing.  Eating tater tots and wearing hand me downs.  I honestly don't think that's the end of the world.  I grew up poor, we made do.  I like their can-do spirits, if I'm honest.  These shows seem to have the patriarch being some handy guy (tree cutter Bates, cell tower/car lot Duggar) who has a home business with a ton of sons to help with the labour.  Josh had his own car lot for a spell.  Lots of podunk kids make do with sales jobs or home based blue collar businesses.  Not saying it's a swanky life, but it's money.

Didn't Derek work at Walmart as an accountant? Ben is useless.  OMG my bf at 19 was a loser, I couldn't imagine if I'd married him.  Ugh.  Ben seems to have zero skills.  But Jessa got the old house and I'm sure that was long ago paid for.  Imagine being 21 in a house with no mortgage?  Gad.

I honestly think they will always be able to monetize their fame.  I also think they have some sort of exclusive arrangement with either In Touch or US weekly because they get all the breaking wedding photos and newborn pics.  You can always sell a pic of your 14th baby, and people like me will always buy that magazine. 

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Jinger should open up her own thrift store.  She could probably stock it initially with just Duggar crap, and humpers, although fewer, would go by and sell her crap.  She could then be a "business owner" and make money from that while still taking whatever she wanted from the shop.

But thats too much like logic....

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3 minutes ago, Buzzard said:

Jinger should open up her own thrift store.  She could probably stock it initially with just Duggar crap, and humpers, although fewer, would go by and sell her crap.  She could then be a "business owner" and make money from that while still taking whatever she wanted from the shop.

But thats too much like logic....

She could make and sell nail art pieces (am I the only one who initially thought that referred to her fingernails?) with which other fundie families could boost their kids' geography lessons!!!!  

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I hate the idea that being a reality TV star means you have a job. Do they make some money? Absolutely! And I'm sure book deals and speaking tours help out. But you are at the mercy of people who can easily cancel your show and any big scandal can force those speaking tours/deals to end abruptly. There is much more stability, in my personal opinion, in fixing air conditioners or accounting for Walmart. 

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2 hours ago, montyollie said:

Longtime FJ lurker, new member here *waves to everyone*

I wanted to add one thing to the "Duggar girls are unemployable" line that sometimes gets bandied about here... The girls actually DO have really good paid jobs.  They are reality teevee stars.  Stats say the family was paid $25-45K per episode and there were 227 episodes filmed.  Surely some of that money had to have been put into trust as they were the stars of the show.  I am pretty sure there are laws about parents spending money of kids who are child actors or performers.

On the new show (Counting On), Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Anna and Joy are the "stars" and they are all adults, so they would have signed their own contracts with TLC for income for their roles in the show.

Also, four oldest girls wrote a book and have residuals from that.

They probably make more than I do.  They are cash cows.  They are by no means "unemployable" who will need husbands to get part time jobs to keep up their thrift store habits.

The thing is, that's ALL they can do. That's all they've learned to do. That's all they've been allowed to do. I can't see these girls being able to hack a job that has duties beyond smiling and looking pretty and spouting the PR-approved party line. They were basically pimped out by their parents into those sources of income (which honestly don't require actual skills beyond physical attractiveness and ability to string together a coherent sentence), but they would do abysmally in the real-world job market.

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7 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

I doubt Jessa owns the house where she and Ben reside.  She is most likely a far below market value renter.

Isnt that grandma's house?  I doubt they pay anything - even the utilities.  

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The Duggars adult children are not going to make enough money money from the show to live off of for life. As it is, they are on TLC, which isn't going to to pay them Kardashian money. After paying taxes, agents, lawyers, they likely are making a good but not outrageous amount of money. Even if they are making 25k an episode, it's not each, its likely split between the girls on the show. No way do they make that amount each on a low rated cable show. That's network or E! Entertainment money for higher rated shows. Plus the days of bestselling  books and tours are pretty much over. Reality stars running out of money once the show is over is common. There is nothing special about the Duggar adult children that would lead one to believe that somehow better equipped to financially take care of themselves. Being frugal isn't enough. 

Once the show is over, they are pretty much screwed. Yes, Derrick has an accounting degree but it doesn't seem that he wants to go back to a conventional life, even though I think  Jill would kill for Derrick to go back to Walmart. They obviously film bits and pieces of their CA adventure because they need the money and it keeps IZZY in fans to chew on. Ben and Jessa will be at Jim Bob's beck and call for life since they have no other way to make money. Jeremy appears to want to live the TV life by hooking up with Jinger. It actually work. It appears his pastoral career is not going to be enough to pay the bills as his church is small from what I read here. Poor Jana is likely to just be stuck at home because it would never occur to her to go out into the world and take care of herself. 

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On 9/17/2016 at 6:31 PM, socalrules said:

I am trying to understand this idea that Jeremy somehow wants to pull Jinger out of the Duggar lifestyle, expose her to the world, save her from Jim Bob and have deep meanful conversations with her. He is a college graduate that sought out a woman who has lived he lifestyle of a 12 year-old, has no education, was raised to be submissive, knows nothing of the world and who needs her parents permission to court. If he wants to save her, he doesn't need to marry her, just help her learn to live an independent life, which people should know how to do before they marry.  Regular Twelve year olds have more independence that Jinger. 

Men who want normal relationships with adult women don't seek out fundy women. What is the upside to seeking out a woman who lives the life of a child and who has never made an adult decision in her life? How is that an appealing way to start a relationship? I don't understand wanting to marry someone who does not know how to make adult decision if their spouse becomes incapacitated or isn't available to make said decision. I don't see how there could be anything great about a man looking to marry a woman who has never lived the life of a woman, i.e. making her own decisions. That's not marrying an equal, that's wanting to marry someone where you have the power as an adult and can mold the other into what you want. 

This x1000. At some point in each girl's courtship, someone at FJ has said the guy is gonna free her and save her. Derick with his world-travelling and Ben because he was so young and unsure that Jessa could domineer. But neither of the married girls has been saved or freed. Jeremy doesn't strike me as "dislikes JB and is playing along to free Jinger" he strikes me as "uncomfortable on camera and unsure of how to handle his future father-in-law". Sure maybe he and JB won't be best of friends like prayer-partner Derick but I don't get the impression that he dislikes JB, just that he is a kind of awkward and reserved dude who doesn't quite know how to handle certain of JB's (admittedly uncomfortable in their own right) jokes.

As for Jeremy's parents doing fuck all to help Jinger, I strongly recommend y'all put Chuck Vuolo into our search function and listen to the sermons from Jeremy's dad someone posted a while back. The Vuolo's may not be drinking specifically IBLP flavored kool aid but it's still pretty damn fundie.

I still get a weird vibe from Jeremy, though I'm pleased to see he at least seemed genuinely happy to see Jinger. I hope that he is a decent husband to her, by fundie standards at the very least, but I am certainly not holding my breath for life as Jinger Vuolo to be much better or even particularly different than life as Jinger Duggar. 

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6 hours ago, montyollie said:

How could I stay away??  You guys are awesome.  Given me MANY MANY hours of enjoyment with the recaps and analysis.  LOL

I think a lot of large fundy families live very hand to mouth existences, with 15 people in three bedroom houses, that sort of thing.  Eating tater tots and wearing hand me downs.  I honestly don't think that's the end of the world.  I grew up poor, we made do.  I like their can-do spirits, if I'm honest.  These shows seem to have the patriarch being some handy guy (tree cutter Bates, cell tower/car lot Duggar) who has a home business with a ton of sons to help with the labour.  Josh had his own car lot for a spell.  Lots of podunk kids make do with sales jobs or home based blue collar businesses.  Not saying it's a swanky life, but it's money.

 

I'm not trying to be mean, I swear (welcome to FJ!!!) but I gotta ask, where have you ever seen a can do attitude from a Duggar? They openly admit they can't cook, they clearly can't clean, they start projects and then wait for TLC to agree to finish it for the story line (up to and including their own house), and pretty much any time they're shown doing anything they never have any real interest or enthusiasm. Exception to Jana and JD, both of whom seem pretty handy and competent.

The Bates in particular have a long history of grifting rather than working. I actually think JB may have been a pretty hard worker as a younger man, but his attitude nowadays is less "can do" and more "can make TLC pay for". I may be confusing what you mean, it seems like you are praising their work ethic, but I must admit I don't think the Duggars have a particularly strong work ethic on the whole.

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1 hour ago, OrchidBlossom said:

This x1000. At some point in each girl's courtship, someone at FJ has said the guy is gonna free her and save her. Derick with his world-travelling and Ben because he was so young and unsure that Jessa could domineer. But neither of the married girls has been saved or freed. Jeremy doesn't strike me as "dislikes JB and is playing along to free Jinger" he strikes me as "uncomfortable on camera and unsure of how to handle his future father-in-law". Sure maybe he and JB won't be best of friends like prayer-partner Derick but I don't get the impression that he dislikes JB, just that he is a kind of awkward and reserved dude who doesn't quite know how to handle certain of JB's (admittedly uncomfortable in their own right) jokes.

As for Jeremy's parents doing fuck all to help Jinger, I strongly recommend y'all put Chuck Vuolo into our search function and listen to the sermons from Jeremy's dad someone posted a while back. The Vuolo's may not be drinking specifically IBLP flavored kool aid but it's still pretty damn fundie.

I still get a weird vibe from Jeremy, though I'm pleased to see he at least seemed genuinely happy to see Jinger. I hope that he is a decent husband to her, by fundie standards at the very least, but I am certainly not holding my breath for life as Jinger Vuolo to be much better or even particularly different than life as Jinger Duggar. 

    The vibe I am getting from babe is that he wants jinge and for the cameras to go away and for the producers to stop asking so many silly questions.

does he want to toe the line on camera?

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13 hours ago, CoveredInBees said:

A lot of other reality TV stars have actual jobs though, even <gasp> the Kardashians (if anything, they probably work the hardest).

If you call getting your mommy to beg designers to put her daughter on a runaway, yes that's working. The only one in that family that has ever worked has been kim. At least she had to fuck that guy

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7 hours ago, OrchidBlossom said:

I'm not trying to be mean, I swear (welcome to FJ!!!) but I gotta ask, where have you ever seen a can do attitude from a Duggar? They openly admit they can't cook, they clearly can't clean, they start projects and then wait for TLC to agree to finish it for the story line (up to and including their own house), and pretty much any time they're shown doing anything they never have any real interest or enthusiasm. Exception to Jana and JD, both of whom seem pretty handy and competent.

The Bates in particular have a long history of grifting rather than working. I actually think JB may have been a pretty hard worker as a younger man, but his attitude nowadays is less "can do" and more "can make TLC pay for". I may be confusing what you mean, it seems like you are praising their work ethic, but I must admit I don't think the Duggars have a particularly strong work ethic on the whole.

To be fair, Jill seemed highly invested and interested in her Midwifery training. The fact that she wasn't given the chance to go through a legitimate educational program for Nursing or something similar still pisses me off because she seemed to have a real interest in it. She should have been allowed to at least try. Even if she couldn't cut it or had to drop out, at the very least she could have said she tried and learned something.

And the Bates offspring all seem to be rather hard workers, unlike their parents. Chad, John, and Zach are all employed by someone other than IBLP headquarters. Lawson was working a lawn care business as a teenager and was relatively successful at it (I think he has someone else running it for him right now.) Brandon works for IBLP headquarters - but at least he has a job I guess?

The women are working hard too and not just at the typical Fundie woman jobs. Erin records and sells her music and Alyssa has helped John clean offices for extra money in the past (I think she still does). Michael, I believe, has babysat and nannied while she was courting (I think she may still be doing that too.) Whitney doesn't appear to work outside the home, but she does have an Associate's in Medical Coding and she did work at Sonic's while courting Zach. So it's not like the Bates offspring are just trying to grift their way through life.

I think the big difference is the fact that the Duggars got lucky with TLC. I think they're used to the money they earn from the show now, so there may not be a big incentive for them to work outside the home. It would be very interesting to see who would sink and who would swim if the show actually disappeared for good.

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1 hour ago, Fundie Bunny said:

If you call getting your mommy to beg designers to put her daughter on a runaway, yes that's working. The only one in that family that has ever worked has been kim. At least she had to fuck that guy

I think mom decided they were going to be reality stars and ran with it. I think they've put the work in though and they've established the brand. AND (big plus) as much as we all know it's scripted (because they all are) they are pretty much warts and all, which actually makes it interesting to watch. That beats the Duggars hands down.

 

5 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

<snip>

The Duggars got lucky with TLC. I think they're used to the money they earn from the show now, so there may not be a big incentive for them to work outside the home. It would be very interesting to see who would sink and who would swim if the show actually disappeared for good.

It would be interesting to see what their lives would've been if TLC hadn't have come along. But we'll never know............

2 minutes ago, Yaoichan12 said:

I didn't know which thread to post this question so I picked this one. 

Do you think the Duggars will take advantage of 'Talk like a Pirate' day and all show up to Krispy Kreme dressed like pirates and all get a free dozen donuts? 

They did last year ;) 

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11 minutes ago, CoveredInBees said:

That beats the Duggars hands down.

Oh c'mon, that is not saying much. I've seen shows about celebrities jumping of a springboard and absolutley nothing else (seriously, two different shows on different channels on the same season, what the fuck were they thinking?) and they were more interesting than the duggars. I don't even hate-watch anymore, i just read buzzard's recaps and and go with whatever you guys say they do :pb_lol:

But I would watch if they just scrpted crap about how much the hate each other. Eho would love to see a catfight betweet jessa and Jana about who is going to wear those shoes at jinger's wedding while jill cries in a corner saying ''We're sisters, we are supposed to love each other!!!!!!''

Ad i forgot to add Jinger and Joy's reaction.

Jinger ''THIS IS MY FUCKING WEDDING MY DAY SO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND SMILE FOR THE FUCKING PHOTOGRAPHER!'' -Later, on the TH- ''I don't even know why i went with my sister as bridesmaids, I should have just gotten a goldfish with a bow, at leats it would have shut the fuck up''

Joy's TH: I don't even care anymore, i'm just here to take some instas

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1 hour ago, Fundie Bunny said:

Oh c'mon, that is not saying much. I've seen shows about celebrities jumping of a springboard and absolutley nothing else (seriously, two different shows on different channels on the same season, what the fuck were they thinking?) and they were more interesting than the duggars. I don't even hate-watch anymore, i just read buzzard's recaps and and go with whatever you guys say they do :pb_lol:

But I would watch if they just scrpted crap about how much the hate each other. Eho would love to see a catfight betweet jessa and Jana about who is going to wear those shoes at jinger's wedding while jill cries in a corner saying ''We're sisters, we are supposed to love each other!!!!!!''

Ad i forgot to add Jinger and Joy's reaction.

Jinger ''THIS IS MY FUCKING WEDDING MY DAY SO SHUT THE FUCK UP AND SMILE FOR THE FUCKING PHOTOGRAPHER!'' -Later, on the TH- ''I don't even know why i went with my sister as bridesmaids, I should have just gotten a goldfish with a bow, at leats it would have shut the fuck up''

Joy's TH: I don't even care anymore, i'm just here to take some instas

... I don't want this to happen. I need it to happen. Like, seriously. It would be phenomenal. And it would give our Sainted Buzzard a break from recapping - that shit would write itself. :pb_lol:

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1 hour ago, VelociRapture said:

... I don't want this to happen. I need it to happen. Like, seriously. It would be phenomenal. And it would give our Sainted Buzzard a break from recapping - that shit would write itself. :pb_lol:

Think of the memes! Oh, it would be so amazing!

I half hope there will be some throwing under the bus in the wedding special (I dont believe it will be a part of the season).  Jeremy has to have some "normal" friends who will roll their eyes at the Duggar Krazy.

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On 9/17/2016 at 4:55 PM, Nikedagain? said:

This is brilliant! I would zealously solicit sponsors for this show!

 

we need this!!! (We do have an FJ group on Rav, but it's pretty quiet.)

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25 minutes ago, karen77 said:

we need this!!! (We do have an FJ group on Rav, but it's pretty quiet.)

Whatever Rav is, can you please make sure that there is no doubt that there's some kind of public statement that the Rav group is not connected to this here FJ? (Sorry, I tried to google "Rav", and now know stuff about an English tv presenter, which I could have done without.)

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On 9/16/2016 at 11:35 AM, Bad Wolf said:

Anyway, I think TLC should do a reality show with me knitting. It would be just as exciting.

Occasionally, to jazz it up, shots of white paint drying on the wall behind you.

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15 hours ago, socalrules said:

The Duggars adult children are not going to make enough money money from the show to live off of for life. As it is, they are on TLC, which isn't going to to pay them Kardashian money. After paying taxes, agents, lawyers, they likely are making a good but not outrageous amount of money. Even if they are making 25k an episode, it's not each, its likely split between the girls on the show. No way do they make that amount each on a low rated cable show. That's network or E! Entertainment money for higher rated shows. Plus the days of bestselling  books and tours are pretty much over. Reality stars running out of money once the show is over is common. There is nothing special about the Duggar adult children that would lead one to believe that somehow better equipped to financially take care of themselves. Being frugal isn't enough. 

Once the show is over, they are pretty much screwed. Yes, Derrick has an accounting degree but it doesn't seem that he wants to go back to a conventional life, even though I think  Jill would kill for Derrick to go back to Walmart. They obviously film bits and pieces of their CA adventure because they need the money and it keeps IZZY in fans to chew on. Ben and Jessa will be at Jim Bob's beck and call for life since they have no other way to make money. Jeremy appears to want to live the TV life by hooking up with Jinger. It actually work. It appears his pastoral career is not going to be enough to pay the bills as his church is small from what I read here. Poor Jana is likely to just be stuck at home because it would never occur to her to go out into the world and take care of herself. 

I think the Duggar home and property is probably paid for, and all JB has to pay for is property taxes, insurance and upkeep.  If and when the TLC money stops coming in, he'll still have income from rental properties.  He's probably squirreled away a lot of the TLC money, and he and Michelle will be financially secure the rest of their lives.  However, because they have so many offspring, when Ma and Pa finally toddle off this planet, their estate will have to be divided among 19 children.  Even if he is worth $5-$10 million, each child would end up with a decent bit of money but certainly not enough to finance the rest of their lives.  And that's where their lack of a decent education or any promising job skills could come back to haunt them.  Once they are yesterday's news, and the inheritance dwindles down, I predict many of the children will face some difficult financial times.

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