which I shamefully admit to being weekly -- the biggest question I have is:
How do they AFFORD all this?????
Kody doesn't seem to have a job. Meri was fired. Janelle left hers in Utah. They talk of starting the fitness center, and of the jewelry venture -- I'm not too sure people are going to be lining up to buy those rings!! But I do not see how they can afford to rent four large homes in Vegas, drive around in large, gas-hog, newer model cars -- not to mention feed all those kids and take care of the other basics. And now they have put earnest money down on FOUR new homes to be built!?
Then there are the vacations -- Each wife gets a trip on their anniversary and birthday. EIGHT trips a year?! Who can afford that?
I'm sure they are getting money from the show but there has to be something else. Does anyone know???
Anyway, all you grammarians out there - I know this is rambling on with incorrect grammar and atrocious puncuation, but I really need another cup of coffee.
I would think for them. I'm sure they are making some money from the show and I'd assume some of those vacations are perks from the show--but what if the show gets canceled? Like Jon and Kate Plus Eight? What then?
I'm fascinated by the show actually. And whatever else the wives and kids go through, can't be much worse than what my kids went through being raised by a single mother and an absentee father (for about 10 years).
I also don't think we can possibly be getting the full story. It is entertainment after all.
I'm guessing the show pays for their vacations. It keeps the show a little more interesting when kody goes on vacation with his girls. He gets 4 vacations and they each get one. Good deal for him. I think the wives love those vacations because that' their only time they can pretend like they have a real marriage.
I'm sure the show has made their lives better financially. However, I have to wonder if all the women but mari is living a government subsidized life. Food stamps, rent, whatever. Basically they are legally single mothers with children. Mari is the one exception.
I haven't seen much of the women's vehicles. I got the impression they were pretty much junkers. Kody always has himself a nice little sports car that no kids can fit into. He strikes me as a selfish person with a head full of air.
I think it was the National Geographic article on the FLDS in which there was an explanation that most of those women are actually "single mothers". Since the husband has to legally divorce one wife in order to marry the next, they get to be welfare queens. I know that wouldn't cover the kind of extravagance you see in that family, but it must add up to a significant chunk of dough.
Sorry for the redundancy of info. Just saw Mia's post!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2012 12:55PM by rosemary.
When they started the first season, Kory, Meri, and Janelle all had jobs in Utah. The family continuously repeated that none of the wives took welfare. Now that they are in Vegas....who knows.
They are lying if they claimed not to take welfare or assistance. In one of the first few episodes, they show one of the wives grocery shopping with an EBT (food stamps) card. Nothing makes me more sick than to see people driving around in Lexus convertibles while making the rest of us taxpayers pay for their food. Not to mention that all but one of the wives have filed for bankruptcy within the past five years or so and yet they think they "deserve" big new homes. Thank you TLC and reality television for giving people like this a platform. It's shameful.
If they're entitled to assistance they have a RIGHT to apply for it and get it just like anyone else. Just like if they were all single moms living separately with no man in the picture.
Sure they have a technical right to do so, but they are exploiting a loophole by receiving income from TLC for the show and since they are technically not legally married they can still go around mooching off of the government. My problem with people like the Browns who take advantage of the system is that they undermine the system for those who truly need it. That threatens its availability for those who truly need it in the long run. The Browns have their TLC income paid to a company owned by Kody Brown so that the other wives can still collect government assistance. I'm not sure how anyone can view this as anything other than wrong.
But that doesn't mean they qualify for assistance. In every state I know of, a person or family must truly be in need. There are so many ways around that, though. And if any of the wives received welfare benefits (which I don't know if they have ever received or not...just being hypothetical, really) while she actually has income from her (non)husband, then that would be welfare fraud.
...I think they bring up possible business ventures as free marketing via the show.
The real question for me is how he does it?
I thought it was so funny when Mary shared that the Mexican tour lady was "cute" and how they made a big deal about that. Cody jumped right on that, "Whatever do you mean Mary?" He was hoping. I don't think the lady would be interested Cody.
My question about this show is does the FLDS religion actually recognize them? I mean, they all get hair cuts, and they dont dress how the FLDS people do. He just seems like some dude with a few wives, not necessarily apart of the FLDS faith.
There are different factions of the FLDS faith. Even in the Colorado City/Hildale community. If you go across the street you will find they dress normal, wear makeup, cut their hair, etc. I know a man there that has seven wives and every wife has a prestigious job. One was a lawyer, another a doctor, etc.
They are AUB Mormon fundamentalists. One of the wives is the granddaughter of Rulon Allred who was murdered in SLC in the late 70s or early 80s. Kody was a regular LDS member and while he was on his mission his parents converted to AUB Mormon fundamentalism. And yes I'm embarrassed that I know so much about this ridiculous family.
There are different factions of fundamental mormonism, of which FLDS is one, but not all fundamentalist groups are FLDS. It's kind of confusing since the FLDS is such a generic sounding name, but there are many organized factions of fundamental (plural marriage practicing) mormonism (just like LDS isn't the only more mainstream group practicing mormonism. Which is weird, but anyway). Here's a list of all LDS sects, including the fundamental sects en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sects_in_the_Latter_Day_Saint_movement
They are UAB or AUB or whatever they are called. I also question whether they are still accpeted within their brand of fundamentalism, but it's not FLDS
The FLDS is the largest but there are many polygamist groups. Some don't really even have a group but they just believe in polygamy and do whatever church service they do at home maybe with a few other families, but there is no hierarchy and leadership. I think the AUB that the Browns are part of is sort of like that but they have some sort leadership structure as well. I read the article on Wikipedia about the AUB a while ago and there was some interesting information in there about how they got started. I think it will make it difficult for them to keep the kids in the faith because it isn't like the LDS church where they have wards everywhere you go and if your kid goes off to college you can encourage them to attend a singles ward and institute. Like if Logan had gone to SUU if he did any church it would just be him by himself in his dorm and honestly who is going to spend a couple hours of their own initiative doing chuchy stuff every Sunday. Especially an 18 year old kid.
I thought the most annoying thing last night was Meri crying about how she doesn't want to buy the houses because the other wives will think her house is to big. I really didn't understand why it was such a big issue. She said herself she doesn't want a 7 bedroom house she just wants a wet bar and a deck. Well why can't she get a 3 or 4 bedrooms house with the features she wants? It would be less space to heat and cool and she has no need for 7 bedrooms. I am sure the developer has multiple floor plans to choose from. It just didn't make sense for her to be upset that the other wives didn't want her to have something that she doesn't need and said herself she doesn't even want.
They get around $50,000 per episode of Sister Wives that is filmed. I don't know how many they film a year, but 20 would be a million dollars. I think they are doing OK.
What is a welfare queen? I am now on food stamps, and had I NO income (child support, alimony) I would have gotten a whopping $297 a month in cash. Thats it. Not any queens I know could live on that. Even with medicaid, housing subsidy, not enough.
Ok, I will admit I am drinking sunkist strawberry soda. But it was on sale, and I am a queen!
I, by no means, consider every person who receives welfare or other public benefits to be a "queen". But if women are living in huge homes with new furnishings (honestly, my husband makes very decent money and we still have to ration out when to buy a new couch or dining room chairs and such. I saw the houses on that show.) and taking any form of government benefits at all, they are welfare queens.
Some people figure out how to work the system. True story. It's not okay when they do that. I remember when I used to live in a very poor neighborhood and when I would be struggling to pay for basic groceries people would be in line in front of me buying luxury food items with food stamps. That includes alcohol. It happened so often my husband and I started jokingly calling food stamps "shrimp and beer tickets".
From what I read in the National Geographic, lots of FLDS women are "welfare queens."
Actually last night Kody said, "we are fundamentalist Mormons. We aren't like the Mormon church you hear about." but he continued to talk about being Mormon.
No, he was in advertising sales when he was in Utah, though he was very vague about the details. Janelle worked in local or state government, either in a financial department position or possibly IT. I thought she made comments about IT before the move, but after she's taked about her "business background, so it was probably financial.
The one thing that I think almost every episode is - why the heck does he drive that car?! It just seems so selfish and basically makes me think that he is insecure or overcompensating. I mean, the excessive car (for a family man), the multiple wives, the long hair, and now the big houses that he thinks each wife should have. First of all, there are already kids starting to leave the nest. Why would they need 7 bedrooms?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2012 02:51PM by dogeatdog.
Most of the automotive and advertising industry is predicated upon taking advantage of people's insecurity and need to overcompensate. Oh, and mid-life crises ... that's a big seller too.
I think Meri is in for a rude awakening. If Kody is "letting" her get a 7 bedroom house when it's just her and her daughter who's about to leave for college, it probably means that Kody is planning to marry wife #5 and have her move in with Meri. And when the son went on his college tour of UNLV and the parents were talking about how the tour guide was so cute, it occurred to me that Kody might ask her out--yikes! And why did the poor kid (Logan, I think) have to have his parents, and the camera crew along on his college visits???? And to have it brought up both times that his parents were polygamists??? Poor kid. He should be able to decide whether/how to bring that up in his own way and at his own time.
The only time I tried to watch that show, I almost threw up. Seriously. First my head started to pound, then sourness in my throat. Had to leave the room. But then, I'm a guy.
Hi, My name is Annony and I am a Sister Wives addict. The SW said that Kody "won" hid new car from their MLM venture. They called it their marketing venture. Did you see the episode when the SW gaves Kody a laptop and he frowned and said he assosciated it with work. When the teenagers visited their old house and they showed flash backs, their furniture was old and ratty. Not at all like the furniturenthey have now. m I;m sure they will make good money off their new book.