Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House

[Dimi1]

17 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

I'm just going to harp on this some more because I can't let it go.

I come from a large family (not as large as the Duggars, of course), but we were able to have a normal Christmas with presents passed out and opened in front of the family with appropriate oohs and ahhs, and "thank yous" too. If they are doing a gift exchange with people buying one present for a selected person -- as Jessa says -- the Duggars could do that, too.

In the morning, they could gather around the tree, and the small children could open their gifts as members of a family. Then, the adults could help to open packages and put things together while lunch was prepared.

Then, the family could gather around the table together and share a nice holiday meal.

After lunch, the kids could play with their new toys while the adults opened their gifts (if they weren't such prigs, a little alcohol might be nice for this part of the day), and then everyone could pack up and go home.

It could even be a rite of passage to move from the "Kids Christmas" to the "Adult Christmas" at 13 or 14 or so.

The Duggars are just not people who should have had any kids, much less 19, that they just can't seem to make anything warm, loving, or happy. 

I will take the Dugger family christmas any time any day...after spending it with my youngest sister-- orchestrating 40 people opening gifts on christmas morning --at my parents house...in a high pitched southern nasal voice...OMG...I had to take to my bed today...Hubby and I are leaving town next christmas...

[ouinason]

I've done big christmas both ways (organized and chaos) and the chaos is much less annoying.

 

I do understand about it looking crazy and stuff though.  That video simultaneously made me miss my family and that chaotic christmas, and really glad I wasn't there for it, lol.

[JoanArc]

They use the megaphone, even though their living room literally has giant speakers and a built-in microphone system for giving presentations?

[xwordfanatik]

4 hours ago, Zella said:

I think Jinger's "revolt" is more surface level appearance than anything. I actually don't think Michelle and JB are that worried about losing her from the fold. She and RPP (I've switched to Reverend Pissy Pants after his sulky birthday pics) aren't going to jump off the money train.

Love it!  He absolutely looked pissy at Jin's birthday outing to In & Out Burger.  RPP.

 

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, xwordfanatik said:

Love it!  He absolutely looked pissy at Jin's birthday outing to In & Out Burger.  RPP.

 

That is partially a tribute to my late great-grandmother. One of her insults for grandchildren who irritated her was "that little pissy [insert name]." If Jeremy were in the family, he would totally be "that little pissy Jeremy." 

[dargosmydaddy]

8 hours ago, Tasya said:

However, no one but Si or Lauren held Bella did they? Very interesting.  

Johannah was dancing her around at one point, and I think Joy is holding her toward the end (Bella is no longer in the polka dot outfit, but she has the same bug-eyed look, so I'm pretty sure it's her). And JB also had her at one point, at least for as long as it took to take a picture.

Jordyn seems like such a sweet kid. And I liked that she mentioned getting a Nerf gun, too, when Jackson was unwrapping his. At least the toys aren't completely gender-segregated.

Jason (I think) having Addison on top of his arms like she was literally a slab of meat and not a baby that he might want to hold onto was... kind of disturbing. He did adjust his one arm after a moment so that he was kind of gripping her, but he seemed completely unenthusiastic about it.

I know they call Justin "Jud" and "Juddy," but I swear Jessa called him "Judsy." Aw.

Josiah playing with the pogo stick and fishing game was the most enthusiasm he's shown in ages.

[Growsonwalls]

Watching this video ... what is the Duggar allergy to nice shoes? Not fancy shoes but why is it that women have to keep their “crown of glory” and wear countenance enhancing clothes yet all clomp around in flip flops, birckenstocks, and crocs? Can’t anyone invest in a nice pair of loafers or ballet flats? 

[absnow54]

3 hours ago, ouinason said:

I've done big christmas both ways (organized and chaos) and the chaos is much less annoying.

At my in-laws it takes 2 hours for 6 adults to open 3 to 4 presents each. I’m all for the chaos.

The Duggar’s should label the presents before they wrap them though, so they don’t have to rip them from kids’ hands the second they open them. 

[ozziemom]

Have we seen the Duggar totem pole in the front yard of the TTH before? Yikes talk about self important. All in all the video was interesting except for whenever Meechelle appeared. Wow is she annoying.

[BradandJanet]

Fifty percent of the food was sweet (desserts) and the other fifty percent was savory (casseroles and bread).

Ninety-five percent of it all was beige.  

It's not just Jill stuck in shades of beige. 

[jcbrown]

8 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

<snip> just another day in Duggartown where nobody can be bothered to do much more than the bare minimum, and nobody gives a shit anyway.

 

8 hours ago, TrixieTrue said:

I know pillows are hard to wrap, but a trash bag? Really? 

"Wrapping" presents in trash bags and ziploc bags just embodied this for me. No one gives a shit and it's all terrible. And these are Duggars so you bet they aren't smart enough to repurpose the bags for, say, trash, and just throw them away because they are the world's most special snowflakes and f*&k the environment. These people are so awful.

Edited December 27, 2019 by jcbrown

[MsJamieDornan]

3 hours ago, ozziemom said:

Have we seen the Duggar totem pole in the front yard of the TTH before?

No, it was a stripper pole for Mullet.

[Barb23]

6 hours ago, JoanArc said:

They use the megaphone, even though their living room literally has giant speakers and a built-in microphone system for giving presentations?

Did the megaphone even work?  

The trash bag wrap doesn't bother me at all.  Both my sister & I have used trash bags plenty of times for bulky items that are difficult to wrap otherwise.  We usually hand it to the recipient with a "pardon the wrap."   We have also given each other birthday gifts in Christmas bags and vice versa.  My sister & I stopped giving birthday cards to each other years ago.   A nice bag of Dove candy or something similar is given in its place, at the same cost.  We enjoy the candy more than a card that is trashed in a day or two.  We text each other daily & see each other at least once a week.  We know what a blessing we are to one other & don't need a  $3 card to say it on our birthdays. Chocolate says it much better.

BTW, I do pride myself on a well wrapped gift & have a weakness for all things tissue paper. I reuse wrapping paper & gift bags but sometimes trash bags do the trick.  I do jazz mine up. I use white kitchen bags & write a Happy Birthday or Happy Housewarming across the front.  I gave my niece a large picture years ago.  I tried numerous paper wraps & bags but the corners kept ripping through so it ended up in a trash bag.  The present  looked much nicer contained in a white plastic bag than it did ripping through the corners of paper wrap & traveled better as well.

I wonder if the Duggars recycle gift bags & other appropriate wrap?  You would think they do since they are supposed to be the thrifty family & that is one way to cut back on costs.  (I realize they are no longer the thrifty family they used to be & can afford every gift bag at the Hallmark store &  Dollar Store combined.)  I guess Mechelle's thriftiness still showed through in her overstuffed Ziploc bags. (Geez, she could have least used the Holiday Ziploc bags.) But there's one thing being thrifty,  she is being cheap. Boob taught her well. 

[Marigold]

On 12/26/2019 at 12:59 PM, GeeGolly said:

I wonder why Jessa is making videos again. I remember her trying a while back and received some harsh feedback. 

I'm thinking maybe to gain more interest in the show and because Jill and Jinger are very active on SM.

I think Jessa is worried the show will be cancelled and establishing herself on Youtube will make her some money.  Not a lot but something.

How much do Youtubers make? Like what does Jessa make for a few thousand views?

[Lunera]

1 hour ago, Marigold said:

I think Jessa is worried the show will be cancelled and establishing herself on Youtube will make her some money.  Not a lot but something.

How much do Youtubers make? Like what does Jessa make for a few thousand views?

Jessa has to get partnered with YouTube in order to make money. Then she could make $1.50- $3 per 1,000 views. Her Christmas video has over 300k views. She could be making around $450- $900 per video. Again, that's only if she applied and was approved for a partnership. 

[fonfereksglen]

23 minutes ago, Lunera said:

Jessa has to get partnered with YouTube in order to make money. Then she could make $1.50- $3 per 1,000 views. Her Christmas video has over 300k views. She could be making around $450- $900 per video. Again, that's only if she applied and was approved for a partnership. 

You did a much better job explaining this than I tried to do recently. 

And I still stand by all the articles I have read recently,  that the partners are now expecting monetary rewards in the form of product purchase. 

I remember the dot com bubble collapse.  The YT and other influencer sites may collapse in a similar fashion of inflated income paid vs next to nothing profit.  What exactly is Jessa selling? 

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by fonfereksglen

[Jeeves]

2 minutes ago, Lunera said:

Jessa has to get partnered with YouTube in order to make money. Then she could make $1.50- $3 per 1,000 views. Her Christmas video has over 300k views. She could be making around $450- $900 per video. Again, that's only if she applied and was approved for a partnership. 

Would she need to provide releases from all the people identifiable in the video if she partnered with YT?  I don't think that you can just video a gathering of three dozen people, wander among them as they talk and interact, and then use the footage commercially, without their consent/release. Heck, as a hobby photographer I'm well aware of the limitations on using recognizable images of people in still pictures, and I assume there are the same issues with video footage used commercially.

Yes, those people are her relatives and unlikely to raise a stink, but if I were YT considering a partnership, I'd want the receipts, aka releases, from all the people shown in the videos. Especially because children are involved.

[lookeyloo]

She could do more of her fundy lifestyle like her closet redo or haircuts.  There are plenty of young women out there doing that.

[galaxychaser]

I only buy cards for $1. I see nice ones but I’m not spending $5 on a card. 

Duggars reuse/recycle? Probably not. 

 

[Lunera]

50 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

Would she need to provide releases from all the people identifiable in the video if she partnered with YT? 

Not really, unless someone makes a big deal about it and contacts YouTube or Jessa wanting the video removed. She only filmed family and I don't think they cared. 

From the article I read:

 In general, any footage shot in a public place can be uploaded to YouTube without permission from anyone you may have captured on film. There are exceptions to the rule -- for example, airport restrooms are public places, but shooting strangers in this setting will likely get you in trouble. The rule that applies here is "expectation of privacy." If a person can reasonably expect privacy in a location, then you cannot film him without his permission. To protect yourself from any legal liability, extend this idea to places where people wouldn't want to be identified, such as in a court room, a doctor's office or a strip club. Filming in a public place is covered by the First Amendment, but that doesn't mean you won't be sued by an angry and unaware participant. If there's any question, ask your subjects to sign a standard release form which you can find online (link in Resources).

 

[JoanArc]

1 hour ago, Lunera said:

Jessa has to get partnered with YouTube in order to make money. Then she could make $1.50- $3 per 1,000 views. Her Christmas video has over 300k views. She could be making around $450- $900 per video. Again, that's only if she applied and was approved for a partnership. 

Wow, the wages of exploitation are enough to pay for an iPad! Would she be paying taxes on these videos?

[Jeeves]

Oh, I'm sure nobody at the TTH cares if Jessa puts them in a video on YouTube. As long as JB okays it. And come to think of it, Jessa wouldn't leave the Duggar bubble and film outsiders anyway so I was daft to even think about, well, laws.

[GeeGolly]

Not that I think the Duggars would care, and they obviously knew they were being filmed, but I think someone else's living room would be a place with an expectation of privacy.

If Jessa did one YT video a week @ $450, she'd be taking in around the same as a 40 hour a week minimum wage employee. 

[luvbadtv]

2 hours ago, JoanArc said:

Wow, the wages of exploitation are enough to pay for an iPad! Would she be paying taxes on these videos?

Yes, it would be taxable income.  YT would be obligated to send her a 1099 at year end.

[cmr2014]

I really wonder if Jessa keeps that money.

I think that Jill and Jinger are okay with keeping any money they make as "influencers," but I wonder about Jessa. She is so deeply tied to JB and the TTH, and it would be an enormous deal for her to not give her earnings to the "headship."

I think that part of the scam that JB runs on his kids is that they are protected from paying income taxes by funneling all their income through his LLCs. He may funnel all the money right back to her right now, but he would still have control and be able to turn off the tap if she or Ben stepped out of line.

[Westiepeach]

Wow. That’s some serious control. If that is what is happening, that is scarier than I thought.  

[GeeGolly]

Who controls the Seewalds' income, they seem to have plenty of money. They bought Ben's parents a trip, they've been to LA, they put sliders and a deck on their house, they have birth bills ...

Whatever way it's working - it's working. For now anyway.

[luvbadtv]

9 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

I think that part of the scam that JB runs on his kids is that they are protected from paying income taxes by funneling all their income through his LLCs. He may funnel all the money right back to her right now, but he would still have control and be able to turn off the tap if she or Ben stepped out of line.

The income tax comment is interesting.  JB could be paying the kids a small salary that puts them in a low income tax category.  This would qualify them for certain tax credits, so they could actually get tax money back without paying in.  With their abundance of dependents, the number grows.  It's a bit complicated, but I wouldn't put it past him to be doing this.

[ozziemom]

4 hours ago, luvbadtv said:

The income tax comment is interesting.  JB could be paying the kids a small salary that puts them in a low income tax category.  This would qualify them for certain tax credits, so they could actually get tax money back without paying in.  With their abundance of dependents, the number grows.  It's a bit complicated, but I wouldn't put it past him to be doing this.

Plus he probably deducts everything as a business expense from the gross revenue coming in and then portions out small salaries to each kid. So his net profit is negligible. Just as @Zella has said , nothing comes between Boob and his $$.

[Sew Sumi]

Interesting if true.

 

[Tasya]

I'm not at all surprised. I posted before in this thread that I thought Ben was secretly the more worrisome of the non-Duggar husbands and it was largely dismissed. I think he fits the classic profile of someone that looks harmless and pleasant on the outside but could be terrorizing his family at home. 

[JoanArc]

 Shit rolls downhill. I can see him taking out his frustrations with Jessa on other people.  God knows you couldn’t say anything to her! 

 None of that makes any of it right. But the whole world is here to service people like Ben... at least from their point of view.

[Tasya]

The reason I believe Ben likely has a terrible attitude both at home and with people in the public is that IMO he's the most impotent (not physically but functionally) in-law. Austin works for himself, Derrick is in Law school and will eventually work for himself, Jeremy, as much as his "career" is derided is also not on the JB assistance plan. Ben has NOTHING. He has no skills, presumably no desire to gain skills and is wholly dependent upon his father-in-law. I bet he has a very deep well of frustration and anger just waiting to boil over. 

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Tasya said:

The reason I believe Ben likely has a terrible attitude both at home and with people in the public is that IMO he's the most impotent (not physically but functionally) in-law. Austin works for himself, Derrick is in Law school and will eventually work for himself, Jeremy, as much as his "career" is derided is also not on the JB assistance plan. Ben has NOTHING. He has no skills, presumably no desire to gain skills and is wholly dependent upon his father-in-law. I bet he has a very deep well of frustration and anger just waiting to boil over. 

I am still fascinated by how badly Jessa reacted to people innocently asking what Ben was up to. If it had been anything productive, she could have answered in a way that was vague enough to protect any real job he had. But instead she just got pissy. That's all the answer we really need. I can definitely see it being a source of frustration and anger. Not that I feel sorry for Ben on that point--dude made his own bed. Now he has to lie in it. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Zella

[DangerousMinds]

Being married to princess Jessa would make anyone pissy, imo.

[BigBingerBro]

This kind of semi-confirms that Bin is just JBoob's personal slave.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he's rude in real life,  He always came off as a dick when he was on the show initially.  

[GeeGolly]

I think Ben has demonstrated in his SM posts that he's a pompous asshole. Yet savvy Jessa posts about 6 pics a year of Ben smiling with his kids and some of their followers think he deserves the dad of the year award.

 

[Albanyguy]

On 12/28/2019 at 9:28 AM, GeeGolly said:

Who controls the Seewalds' income, they seem to have plenty of money. They bought Ben's parents a trip, they've been to LA, they put sliders and a deck on their house, they have birth bills ...

Whatever way it's working - it's working. For now anyway.

If, as we suspect, it's true that Jim Bob collects all the TLC paychecks, puts them in the family trust and then doles out allowances, I'm sure that he doesn't do it on any basis of fairness. He probably uses the money to reward the kids who kiss his ass and punish the ones who get out of line. Since Jessa has always been cooperative and careful to present the right image and not do anything to rock the TLC boat, I'll bet she and Ben have always received more than their fair share of the pot. After Derick started his vendetta against Jazz and TLC and got bounced off the show, Jim Bob probably cut the Dillards' allowance down to a pittance. Derick's bitterness about "not getting paid for being on the show" could actually mean that he's angry that the Seewalds (and possibly some of the other kids) have received preferential treatment.

[Tikichick]

And yet I'd wager real money on Josh's share of the pie growing with every new blessing Anna pops out.  

[Sew Sumi]

Well, Smuggar's place sold for over $300k last year, and they haven't bought a new place. I imagine like the Vuolos, Smuggar is living off the profits.

[JoanArc]

Just now, Sew Sumi said:

Well, Smuggar's place sold for over $300k last year, and they haven't bought a new place. I imagine like the Vuolos, Smuggar is living off the profits.

 And God knows what was going on with that Carlot!  I suspect homeland security knows. I really can’t get over it closing the next day and completely folding within the week. People that drove through said it like it was never even there.

[Churchhoney]

7 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Interesting if true.

 

For some reason impossible for me to comprehend being married to a Duggar seems to go to people's heads. 

[Growsonwalls]

Here;s the thing. I think Jessa so prizes her status as the queen bee Duggar and fundie role model that it would be "beneath" Ben to get a job delivering for grubhob a la Derick or fixing up houses a la Austin. Only the best for OfJessa. So the jobs OfJessa would be qualified for he'd never apply for because ... you know, Jessa is the Queen Bee and can't be seen mingling with the plebeians. 

[fonfereksglen]

3 hours ago, Albanyguy said:

If, as we suspect, it's true that Jim Bob collects all the TLC paychecks, puts them in the family trust and then doles out allowances, I'm sure that he doesn't do it on any basis of fairness. He probably uses the money to reward the kids who kiss his ass and punish the ones who get out of line. Since Jessa has always been cooperative and careful to present the right image and not do anything to rock the TLC boat, I'll bet she and Ben have always received more than their fair share of the pot. After Derick started his vendetta against Jazz and TLC and got bounced off the show, Jim Bob probably cut the Dillards' allowance down to a pittance. Derick's bitterness about "not getting paid for being on the show" could actually mean that he's angry that the Seewalds (and possibly some of the other kids) have received preferential treatment.

Would not be a trust which is extremely complicated.

JB, in his business entity, is the contractor with TLC.  The married children,  in whatever entity they exist, would be the subcontractors.  Which would explain all the LLCs which have suddenly appeared.  That would be how each LLC is paid, and then each entity does a draw from their LLC for living expenses.

From our real life, within his LLC,  my husband has been a sub, rather than an employee, for countless individual contacts. The tax breaks for an LLC which is careful with record keeping, are significant.

For the Duggars, there would be retirement money issues,  like 401k accounts which would be far more important to young Duggar spawn, which were not important to us.

While I  still don't understand SM income, which I believe is wildly inflated to attract more suckers, I do understand contracts and subs.

 

[Tikichick]

It's entirely possible for it to be a combination of trust(s) and LLCs.  Complicating it would be exactly the point of doing so for a variety of reasons.  Makes it easier to keep an obstacle course of financials cloaked from prying eyes -- IRS, family members, outsider heathens, etc.    Increases the costs of climbing the legal mountain should anyone break ranks.  With JB in charge of the family funds via a maze of every carefully constructed, legally binding document his legal team could begin to think to draft he could choke off their ability to fight his control and/or even their ability to see a full accounting of the monies.  It also makes it incredibly difficult for anyone who might win a court settlement against JB or others in the family to collect -- unless they have deep enough pockets to afford a deep legal team and a crack team of forensic accountants.  

Any rudimentary skills Derrick has from his schooling, past and present, may make JB slightly wary that Derrick has some comprehension that JB has built a fun house of financials.  It would be rather hilarious if Derrick were to ultimately be able to build friendships with and garner some support from better educated and experienced friends from school days, past and present, to allow a green lawyer with a bachelor's in accounting the ability to walk into the courthouse and challenge JB's house of mirrors without ringing up a crippling pile of legal bills.       

[Albanyguy]

14 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Any rudimentary skills Derrick has from his schooling, past and present, may make JB slightly wary that Derrick has some comprehension that JB has built a fun house of financials. 

I think that's also one reason why he disliked Jeremy from the start. 

[Tikichick]

8 minutes ago, Albanyguy said:

I think that's also one reason why he disliked Jeremy from the start. 

I was specifically referring to Derrick's BA in accounting and stint at Walmart corporate, along with his current stint studying law.

[absnow54]

1 minute ago, Tikichick said:

I was specifically referring to Derrick's BA in accounting and stint at Walmart corporate, along with his current stint studying law.

I had forgotten that Derrick was an accountant too. A lawyer AND an accountant should be JB’s worst nightmare. 

[Tikichick]

Just now, absnow54 said:

I had forgotten that Derrick was an accountant too. A lawyer AND an accountant should be JB’s worst nightmare. 

Precisely what I've been suggesting.  Although I'm not suggesting that Derrick is or will ever be close to being able to challenge JB's maze on his own.  If Derrick were a CPA with other types of accounting experience it would be better, preferably forensic accounting.  Not sure how solid Derrick's legal education will be either, and of course he has no experience in the field -- let alone the type of experience that would be necessary to take on such a snarl of secretive contracts and documents -- let alone legal representation from experienced lawyers.

Would be hilarious if Derrick had ties to classmates/professors from his OSU days who would be willing to give him some pointers/help him do doc review as a favor and could wind up with a law school mentor willing to help guide the process on the legal side.  

I just wonder how good Ole' Buy Used and Save the Difference is at selecting bulletproof legal representation who know how to bury the bodies, AND more importantly, will he actually be able to unclench his fist from the money necessary to pay them?   Good thing he can operate on Duggar time, because I doubt his head rests easy on the pillow if he has any doubts some of this could happen.

[Zella]

1 hour ago, Tikichick said:

I was specifically referring to Derrick's BA in accounting and stint at Walmart corporate, along with his current stint studying law.

Yeah I can't stand Derick or Jeremy, but I am not convinced Jeremy knows anything about business, despite his business degree. His lack of basic marketing know-how is startling. I can see how Derick, with his accounting and now legal training, would be in a better position to comprehend this stuff. 

54 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Precisely what I've been suggesting.  Although I'm not suggesting that Derrick is or will ever be close to being able to challenge JB's maze on his own.  If Derrick were a CPA with other types of accounting experience it would be better, preferably forensic accounting.  Not sure how solid Derrick's legal education will be either, and of course he has no experience in the field -- let alone the type of experience that would be necessary to take on such a snarl of secretive contracts and documents -- let alone legal representation from experienced lawyers.

Would be hilarious if Derrick had ties to classmates/professors from his OSU days who would be willing to give him some pointers/help him do doc review as a favor and could wind up with a law school mentor willing to help guide the process on the legal side.  

I just wonder how good Ole' Buy Used and Save the Difference is at selecting bulletproof legal representation who know how to bury the bodies, AND more importantly, will he actually be able to unclench his fist from the money necessary to pay them?   Good thing he can operate on Duggar time, because I doubt his head rests easy on the pillow if he has any doubts some of this could happen.

I think Jim Bob will use Travis Story since they're already pals and are ideologically compatible. Maybe Bob Ballinger if he wants to be flashy since he is connected to Story's firm. Ballinger practices law, but I have never actually came across anyone who used him as an attorney. 😂 If I were hiring an attorney in the NWA area, Story is not personally the one I know of as people hiring when they want to scare the shit out of their opponent.