Dillards 73: A Bitter Dill

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, Snarkasarus Rex said:

I very clearly remember my mother putting bread bags on our feet before our boots went on...lol

My wonderful, comfortable and stylish winter boots developed a crack in the sole on the one boot. I gorilla glued it last year and they did fine. This year, my foot got wet..... gorilla glue failed. I have odd sized feet and bunions so shoe/boot shopping is an ordeal. Also this is past season and there isn't much left out there for a good solid snow boot. I'm using store bags. 

I did notice in one of the pics of Izzy, he does have some kind of glove on. 

[acheronbeach]

4 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

My wonderful, comfortable and stylish winter boots developed a crack in the sole on the one boot. I gorilla glued it last year and they did fine. This year, my foot got wet..... gorilla glue failed. I have odd sized feet and bunions so shoe/boot shopping is an ordeal. Also this is past season and there isn't much left out there for a good solid snow boot. I'm using store bags. 

I did notice in one of the pics of Izzy, he does have some kind of glove on. 

In the comments I think Jill said they didn't have gloves for him because all they had was adult sized gloves, so they improvised with bags.  

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, acheronbeach said:

In the comments I think Jill said they didn't have gloves for him because all they had was adult sized gloves, so they improvised with bags.  

The gloves I saw did look a bit big. 

[clueliss]

2 hours ago, DigDugger said:

Above someone mentioned that Derick claims not to have made much money being on the show.  Anyone have any idea of how much he might have earned?  

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Personally, in looking at a lot of Derick's language in tweets and such (before I stopped following him for the sake of my own sanity) I thought he split hairs and played games with words.  So he might have said HE didn't make much money on the show.  But that wouldn't necessarily include Jill or the larger Duggar family.  And likely in his own mind, he would still be telling the truth.  This behavior is one of the reasons I'm not necessarily surprised at his venturing over to law school.  

[DigDugger]

Thanks for responding to my post, clueliss.  

When the show was named "Counting On: Jill and Jessa", it seems like he--or his wife--would have started collecting a bigger paycheck, since they were playing a bigger role on the show, with less competition from JB, Michelle, and Josh.

Less money, less TV exposure.  He really messed it up for Jill when he failed to keep his mouth shut. 

[TZmom]

6 hours ago, acheronbeach said:

Some parts of Arkansas dropped to minus four celsius and it's windy.  With even moderate wind and not touching the snow, a little guy like Israel can get frostbite in minutes.  

My kids' school (elementary) makes them go outside at recess as long as it's above -20C. Actually,  they've even started these outdoor learning days once a week, where they're outside all day,  even in the winter.  In -4C, he would be fine. 

[DarkAnts]

30 minutes ago, DigDugger said:

Thanks for responding to my post, clueliss.  

When the show was named "Counting On: Jill and Jessa", it seems like he--or his wife--would have started collecting a bigger paycheck, since they were playing a bigger role on the show, with less competition from JB, Michelle, and Josh.

Less money, less TV exposure.  He really messed it up for Jill when he failed to keep his mouth shut. 

They were only in a few episodes each season while in CA. I wonder if he got upset because JB did not give him as much money during that time. He was glad to toe the party line when it benefited him financially.

[Sacrilicious Twerk-a-Work]

On 1/28/2019 at 1:03 PM, Carm_88 said:

As a Canadian, I didn't realize that full effect of the Confederate flag until I took an American history course in university. I had some general knowledge that it was from the Civil War, but the whys didn't come about until then. We learned about the history of slavery in junior high because we read books about the underground railway and how Canada was freedom for the escaped slaves. I guess it just never clicked that North and South fought over the right to own people. 

Does it have to be taught? Absolutely, just as we have to teach about the holocaust and other genocides. However, much like Canadian treatment of indigenous people, it has to stop being white washed. 

Very good points made! I did not learn about the gravity of Canadian First Nations until I was in college (mid-south/southwest US here)

It's amazing how living in different regions (and countries) can show the weight that a topic bears on people......as much as we Okies like to appear to be wild west toughies, the word "bomb" sends a collective wave of sick over our faces. 1995 wasn't that long ago for us.....

 

[CarrotCake]

In the comments Jill mentions that he is wearing knitted mittens and the bags are just for waterproofing.

As a kid I usually also only had knitted mittens. I just accepted they would get wet when I played with snow.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

13 hours ago, clueliss said:

Personally, in looking at a lot of Derick's language in tweets and such (before I stopped following him for the sake of my own sanity) I thought he split hairs and played games with words. 

For some reason, I remember him using the word "volunteers". Maybe something like, "No, we weren't fired from Counting On. Volunteers can't be fired."?

[clueliss]

I do remember him saying TLC Didn't fire him (True - Figure 8 produces the show - not TLC.  And appearing on a TV show isn't the same as employment.).  And yeah the Duggars seem to treat the series as a 'ministry' so I can see how they 'think' they are volunteers.  

[Four is Enough]

The old bread bag over the socks trick! Supposedly, it helped the feet go into the boots more easily as well... maybe the first time,but bigger boots on bigger feet might have helped more! LOL!

[bella8050]

Glad Jill cleared that up about the mittens.  Skimmed the video, ughh did not need to see a crotch angle shot of Wreck making snow angels. I need to get that image out of my head.

I still don't believe they didn't got paid for being on CO. If you're a big enough "character" to be interviewed regularly, and invite the crew into your home for things like weird gender reveal parties or to be filmed giving birth, you should be compensated. 

In competion reality shows, I have heard some former contestants, say from The Amazing Race, claim that they didn't get money because they didn't win, but still 99% sure they got money each week they appeared on the show. I know back in American Idol's heyday the contestants got around $1,000 a week for appearing on the show plus a clothing budget. 

 

[rainbowbabycakes]

On 1/30/2019 at 11:58 AM, Alisamer said:

 

If I was to ever win the lottery, I'd go on a long road trip through the US to see all kinds of roadside attractions, taking photos and blogging all the way through just to share it with people. As it is there are things nearby I've never done... I need more hours in the day and many more dollars in my pocket.

This is  on my lottery bucket list. Buy an RV, homeschool my kid for a few years, see everything cool, and blog about it. 

I have to play the lottery for that to happen though, lol

[Jilli]

1 hour ago, bella8050 said:

Glad Jill cleared that up about the mittens.  Skimmed the video, ughh did not need to see a crotch angle shot of Wreck making snow angels. I need to get that image out of my head.

I still don't believe they didn't got paid for being on CO. If you're a big enough "character" to be interviewed regularly, and invite the crew into your home for things like weird gender reveal parties or to be filmed giving birth, you should be compensated. 

In competion reality shows, I have heard some former contestants, say from The Amazing Race, claim that they didn't get money because they didn't win, but still 99% sure they got money each week they appeared on the show. I know back in American Idol's heyday the contestants got around $1,000 a week for appearing on the show plus a clothing budget. 

 

Yeah I don’t personally believe that TLC’s lawyers would be ok with them not being paid. That could bite them later. I could see JB trying to pool the money for business ventures but volunteer? Hardly.

[mpheels]

9 minutes ago, Jilli said:

Yeah I don’t personally believe that TLC’s lawyers would be ok with them not being paid. That could bite them later. I could see JB trying to pool the money for business ventures but volunteer? Hardly.

At the very least, they consented to whatever compensation package they received. Family “reality” TV is what Figure 8 does - I’m sure they are open to unconventional payment schemes, but every adult they put on TV has signed a contract in some form.

[Georgiana]

14 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

For some reason, I remember him using the word "volunteers". Maybe something like, "No, we weren't fired from Counting On. Volunteers can't be fired."?

It was that, but it was also in defense to their numerous attempts to get money from others.  Derick was complaining about TLC not paying a bill from Sam's birth, trying to make TLC (or possibly Jim Bob) look bad or like they acted in bad faith, and many people responded with "It's not their responsibility to pay for medical care for your kid, it's yours. They give you a paycheck for your appearance on the show.  Use that to pay for your family's bills. PS Stop trying to grift money from other people when you're on a TV show."

Derick tried to defend himself by saying that they "volunteered" for the show, so it would be nice/is reasonable for them to expect TLC/Jim Bob/Jesus Christ/Someone Else to cover the costs they incur while "volunteering" and also this is why they need to grift.  

But as per usual, what Derick didn't expect is that "volunteering" to regularly appear on a popular-ish TV show is dumb as rocks, and as someone with higher-level financial education, he should be well aware of that because that's just common sense.  Also, it's not believable.  SOMEONE is clearly getting paid by TLC, and if it's not the Dillards directly, well...they're adults and they should fix that and properly manage their finances instead of asking other people to pay their bills.  

[bella8050]

1 hour ago, Jilli said:

Yeah I don’t personally believe that TLC’s lawyers would be ok with them not being paid. That could bite them later. I could see JB trying to pool the money for business ventures but volunteer? Hardly.

That is the only way I can see where the Dillards truly didn't get any money - they waived their paycheck over to JB, with the intent to invest or donate. If JB tries that with all the couples I'd say its up to the headships to go along with it or not. If Wreck did that's on him. I really can't see Austin or Jeremy going for that. Ben maybe and the married Duggar boys probably. Still Wreck is the only vocally disgruntled one. 

[Dandruff]

I have a hard time believing that they weren't getting paid, given that they were being filmed in CA.

[nastyhobbitses]

I fully believe that they were getting paid and Derick just thinks that a useless "ministry" certification and then three years of law school take priority over his children when it comes to the family budget. Then he realized "oh wait shit I have to pay for my kid's medical care because I only vote for politicians who think that poor people don't deserve healthcare" and decided to blame TLC rather than his own dumb jobless ass. 

[JDuggs]

I think Derick tried to explain this at the time they left the show, but was extremely unclear. Here’s my take. First, it was Israel’s birth expenses that he wanted extra compensation for, not Sam’s. There was an episode of the show for Israel’s birth and the Dillards incurred a lot of expenses related to it. In his mind, Derick was trying to compare this episode to a honeymoon episode where the couple on the honeymoon are given a budget to take a trip. Derick wanted to be given a budget to have a baby. I’ve never had a baby in the NICU, but I guess that even some people with health insurance still incur some large expenses in this situation. I think Derick felt like TLC was profiting from his family’s medical emergency so they should have ponied up some extra money. If Jill had a much less costly homebirth, I don’t think Derick would have been asking for more money, but he’s still a dick anyway. Even though his motivation was money, I’m glad they’re not on TV.

[xenobia]

I firmly believe that there's som kind of family trust fund/corporation set up - one that is run by JB. That's where the money goes. Then JB hands out what he think each kid should get. So JB probably controls a very large amount of money. If you're not on the show and/or if you do stuff that JB doesn't like (looking at you, Der), then your money supply quickly runs out. 

The only thing that I don't get is how someone like Jeremy, who has been out in the real world, accepts this solution. My best guess is that he and Jinjer gets a healthy amount of money from JB, and Jeremy is smart enough to don't bite the hand that feeds him. 

[Snarkasarus Rex]

I think Jeremy’s ok with the arrangement since he also has another income source. And he knew he could make or raise more money (speaking at conferences, appearances for Diana’s charity) once his marriage  made him ‘famous’.  Jeremy’s savvy enough to differentiate himself from the Duggars in a positive way but still play ball with Boob. 

[VelociRapture]

On 2/18/2019 at 2:59 PM, nausicaa said:

When I was super broke, my winter boots had small holes in the toes that let a bit of water in but otherwise looked fine. So I wore bread bags over my socks when it rained or snowed and it worked like a charm. Seriously, bread bags and plastic gloves under your winter gear keeps you warm like nothing else. 

*This FJ tidbit brought to you by Nausicaa's cheapassness*

Random tidbit: this is actually how they keep micropreemies warm when they’re first born. This article explains it pretty well, but the plastic helps to prevent hypothermia. Their skin is so thin that water evaporates too quickly, so blankets aren’t always effective.

[AtlanticTug]

I've said a few times that I would be very surprised if they were getting paid directly by TLC. My guess is that, for tax reasons, TLC compensated the Duggars during the initial Counting On run indirectly. Meaning, JimBoob would have set up a corporation, the corporation would have received the funds and he was likely sole shareholder, or possibly 50/50 with Michelle. The corporation could then pay out funds as he saw fit. So long as the $ is sheltered in the corporation, it receives the benefit of being retained earnings in terms of how it is taxed. JB is not an idiot and I would be shocked if he didn't have at least a simple structure like this set up. For all we know, he has a fairly complex intercompany structure and the funds flow that way - via "intercompany lending" in exchange for promissory notes, etc.

The question is what happened when with Counting On Part Deux? Yes, it was supposed to feature mostly Jill and Jessa and their new families but still everyone except Josh was on and it obviously grew to involve all the kids. It is VERY POSSIBLE that the same compensation scheme remained in place. Do we really believe that uneducated Jessa and Jill, who know nothing about economics, the tax code or corporate law, would have pushed their beloved Daddy to move aside so they could set up their own equivalent structures? I don't buy it for a second. Especially if he told them he'd continue flowing down the funds, and especially if he had set up multiple subsidiaries for the kids, or trusts or whatever other estate planning vehicle he employed.

So yes, while Derick is a liar or at least an omitter of truth, it is entirely possible that they were not getting paid directly. The "volunteering" I never really took to mean that they didn't get a penny, but more like they were "voluntold" by JB to keep sweet and stay on the air with the promise of $ coming down the road. Now how much and whether he was fair about it, who knows.