Reading Eagle: Joe the Plumber could take some pointers in self-promotion from Jon and Kate Gosselin
Nov 29th, 2008 by BohemianMoon
FROM THE READING EAGLE (Man these folks really DON’T like the Greedslins do they? One can only wonder why ;)) ~
Al Walentis
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Joe the Plumber could take some pointers in self-promotion from Jon and Kate Gosselin
I bet you’ve been asking yourself, I wonder what Joe the Plumber is up to these days. No? Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. Samuel Wurzelbacher is now Joe the DTV Conversion Salesman, starring in a series of educational videos for VelocityStore.com on how late adapters can make the switch from analog to digital TV.
It seems like a pretty flimsy gig for a man of so many, many talents. Maybe what Joe needs to do is take some marketing lessons from Jon and Kate Gosselin, the Pennsylvania couple who elevated the torture of trying to raise infant sextuplets into a commercial empire that would do the King of All Media, Howard Stern, proud.
There is, of course, their reality show on The Learning Channel and accompanying DVD set, a new book, $25,000 fees, plus first-class airfare, for inspirational lectures, a music video, and a whole lot of swag — just about everything but a movie deal, but I can smell one coming. (The Gosselins go to Europe — for free!) Their official Web site no longer contains a”prayer/wish list” for more freebies, but the National Enquirer reports this week (no online link) that during a recent church appearance the couple passed around a plate to collect cash “love offerings” and then peddled autographed photos for $20 a pop.
The Enquirer says the clan now lives in a $1.3-million home in Wernersville and is catered to by a personal organic chef (says Kate “…thank God for that! It allows me to peel myself out of the kitchen to do outings or interviews for the show without compromising my families’ nutrition.”), nannies, housekeepers, a gardener and a personal assistant to run errands.
But with the blowback from bloggers growing more fierce, what Jon and Kate really need now is a good press agent to smother the bad PR.
Or with all those potties humming in their $1.3 million home, perhaps they could use a full-time plumber.
(Al Walentis, multimedia projects coordinator for the Reading Eagle, leads a lively and irreverent conversation on world and local events, stuff going on around this site, online trends and the occasional rant.)
http://www.readingeagle.com/blog.aspx?bid=2&id=18681&t=Joe-the-Plumber-could-take-some-pointers
Joe the Plumber couldn’t snake out all the bulllshit in that family in a hundred years. Two giant turds, clogging the system and getting richer. Something smells and it aint the potties.
The really scary thing is that the “Gosselins Go to Europe [For Free]” sounds like it could actually happen. Maybe not a wide-cinema release like “Batman: The Dark Knight” but a full 2 hour movie-length special that TLC could run a commercial for every 10 seconds and then keep a little “TLC - Jon & Kate Go To Europe!” icon on the screen at all times during other shows like they do already.
If the ratings were high enough for the comped Hawaii trip — complete with free first class round-trip airfare and an absolutely necessary “So-the-kids-don’t-get-Jet-Lag” stopover at a 5 star resort in San Diego for five days “but this is really to renew our vows… after 9 years…” trip, then I bet TLC would give this a green light. At least Kate would finally feel at home in a country like France or Spain where people are rude and flippant with each other, and that is generally accepted/expected behavior — hey, maybe she’ll even meet her match.
Maybe Joe the Plumber can become the new “Uncle Joe the Plumber” who babysits and gets some camera time from here on. God knows Kate doesn’t have any relatives left, and I’m sure that she will only be surrounded by quasi-celebrity or better from now on, so Joe might actually bite to get some camera time, of course, as long as he doesn’t get paid for the work.
#2 Matt~
I bet you are right!
I am also so curious as to why there was a necessary 5 day stop over for the on the way there, but no mention of one on the way back….I wonder why the time adjustment was so crucial on the way there, but not so vital on the way back. Also one would think that it would actually be easier to adjust to one time change in one shot, rather than two.
But what do I know, eh?
#1 Dirty~
LOL
If one waits long enough - someone will do it for kate - like the
yard sale signs. IMO its time for the IRS to step in and critique these freebies. I’ve heard in the past that freebies are considered income at tax time. Hopefully, they’ll stay in town long enough for the kids to attend school this year. They need the social interaction with others to develop. Living in a commune is really tunnel vision. Again, thanks for the updates!!
BoMo #4~
It’s not that hard to figure out really…nothing is the truth from these people. Flimsy excuses for what they are doing is all we will ever get. The ‘necessary’ stopover in San Diego is a perfect example of that. As you said, why didn’t they need one on the way home? That’s easy, no paid sponserships and nothing left to film!
#6 Momof5~
Exactly. And as I say often enough, they must think that we are dumber than a bag of rocks not to notice these things.
#5 Louise~
It is an assumption on my part, but I imagine all the free trips, product placement, etc is a part of their contract and a part of the TLC advertising budget. In other words, TLC is the one that negociates the trips etc in exchange for story line sets and advertising them, so I don’t feel that the Gosselins would be responsible for taxes on the trips/toys. The love offering donations and the selling of the pictures is a different thing all together and they would be responsible for taxes on that part of their income.
That is my take on it anyway.
As always, thanks for your comment
Talk about “flimsy” the reasons people give in defense of these two.
Actually, the IRS [no kidding] has a very, very liberal view of what is considered “income” for income tax purposes. Essentially, anything you receive that is not a gift (absolutely nothing is given in exchange for the thing of value acquired) in exchange for any form of consideration (appearance, plugging their product, etc.) is considered income to the IRS. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a payroll check or round-trip air fare to Hawaii.
And even if they are Gifts, the Gift exception is capped at approximately $12,000 per year — i.e., if you receive more than $12,000 per year in gifts from any source other than a spouse, a Gift tax has to be paid (though, often the donor will pay it, TLC or the Corp. providing the freebie in this case).
If J&K were to be audited by the IRS, I think they would end up having to claim fair market value for a LOT of the things they’ve been given in relation to the show. Because “the show is their job” this provides strong evidence that all the corporate freebies would not have been given to them but for the show, and that the corp expected a plug in return for the “free”bie.
It very well could be that the above is accounted for in the agreements J&K have with Gymboree, the Gap, TLC and so on, as any sophisticated company like TLC would probably take care of this type of issue. But nevertheless, there have been many people who have gone down due to money they received related to TV shows (Richard from Survivor, Season 1 is sitting in prison right now for tax evasion related to the show). The IRS does offer a tip line to report a good-faith belief that someone is evading taxes
I hope that the IRS has already been looking closely at their returns. I’m hoping, Matt, that they have at least hired a good tax person who makes sure that all is done properly. I have to say though that I would have a great laugh if J&K got caught in a tax bind. Kate’s attitude just grates and I think the IRS could teach her some good life lessons.
The thing that sucks is that generally, unless there is a tip and some evidence, the IRS typically does random audits unless you have a regular job where your employer turns in W-4s that say you made, say, $50,000 and you only reported $40,000 in income.
In situations where you aren’t on a payroll (other than the TLC contracts that probably give them a regular income) it’s really difficult for the IRS systems that are in place to detect tax evasion by people like J&K. The IRS wouldn’t know the difference between them claiming $3M in income or $2.3M most likely, and I’m sure that J&K’s accountants/attorneys know this.
If a solid tip came in that they were lying or not reporting income, the IRS would probably investigate it which could turn into a full-blown audit, which would be an absolute living hell for J&K and their “people.” The house, all the freebies, trips, and other things would have to be scrutinized and their tax returns for the last few years would be held up against their assets to see if a discrepancy exists.
Of course, I would love to send in a tip or suggest a report like anyone would out of spite, but it would be highly unethical and wrong without a good-faith basis to call in such a tip.
Hopefully, sooner rather than later, the State of Pennsylvania will step in on a multi-front basis and address the child exploitation issues along with the tax issues and bring in the IRS for their part of the taxes. That would be by far the best result, for all the obvious reasons. Unfortunately, though, I’m sure PA is very happy to have the publicity and notoriety related to the show in their state, and will probably not turn on the beloved J&K until the show becomes unpopular or they do something so outrageous that even the State can’t stand by while it happens.
Are they getting PA health benefits as their income is not considered ‘income from work’. Seems some DHS’s have criteria re earned and non-earned income.
An insurance salesman friend always got free cruises - at certain times a meeting would be called - then, at tax time - a healthy
1099 would be forthcoming to be considered as income.
I’ll leave their tax issues to IRS or whomever….but, is putting your child on the laundry room floor when sick w/fever, vomting,etc. considered child abuse???? That picture of K putting Aaden (I believe - may have been Joel) on the floor will not get out of my head….anyone know if that would be conidered child abuse/neglect and as such, a reportable offense? Jon we’re all counting on you buddy, when are you going to get ticked off enough to say “Enough Kate -”remove that stick” would definitely be appropriate at this point (as it was when you used it previously). I KNOW you have more class than her, please Jon, speak up for your family, i.e., your children. There is no one else that can or will do it. Mady is a “young Kate”…I sooo suspect you will have your hands full, starting at about 11-12 yrs. old, as she approaches puberty…..it doesn’t ease up til they are grown and out of the house…I’ve raised 3 great daughters who are grown and have their own families now and none of them were as “hormonal” as Mady, so you have that to look forward to….best of luck!
Isn’t leaving a sick, feverish Joel on the cold laundry room floor considered child abuse because Kate didn’t want to wash any more comforters with vomit on them? This was captured on tape so there can be no “spinning” it on Kate’s part. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a confidential 800 number to report child abuse. I wonder if anyone has ever used it? Maybe someone should.
Janine- I have also voiced concern over the feverish sick little ones being left on a cold concrete floor with nothing more then a blanket between that and their little bodies. I think it is the least maternal thing I have ever seen Kate and Jon do, and it makes me ill…they didnt just do it with Joel, they say in that episode that is where they put sick kids…my response was with the pathetic little bowls they give the kids to puke in, its no wonder they puke elsewhere, who wants the back splash on their face?? My parents gave us deep mop buckets, with a tiny splash of vim and water to hide the smell, we didnt need to puke elsewhere. I also said if I had 8 kids I would have a bed made that was big enough for me and all my sick kids to cuddle up together so I could be close to them and keep close watch over them and help them feel better. I am not sure however if legally this is abuse?