# I said the right thing to Dave Foley ;-) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592 "2012-03-23T12:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/41 "2012-03-23T19:17:39Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > I’ve long imagined that if I met a celebrity that I legitimately liked, I would humbly tell them that I really enjoyed their work in \_\_\_\_\_ and then leave them alone. Or better yet, just catch their eye and nod. In my imagination, I always fill the blank with an obscure but underrated role. I would want to compliment them on a movie or show very few ever did. Like telling Tom Hanks that I loved From the Earth to the Moon and John Adams. I met [Brenda Strong](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0834947/) (imdb link) once - she is the narrator voice of Desperate Housewives and had roles in tons of things. One thing she was in was this obscure sci-fi pilot called (I think) Island Earth (nope, it was [Island City](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110163/)). I only remembered it because I caught a bit of the start of it one random late-night surf session and noted that it starred Kevin Conroy who was the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in The Animated Series. Very silly attempt at a series. Anyway, so I meet her and her husband - she is looking just elegant in a gown for the event we were both at - and I say “So I have an obscure reference for you - Island City” (I got the name right back then). She was all “you remember Island City?!” and totally wanted to engage. And I had nothing. I didn’t really know the show - I just watched it to see what the voice of Batman looked like IRL (well, and to check out Brenda because she is hawt ;)). I died as the conversation twisted slowly in the wind. Or then there was the time I saw this extremely beautiful punky styled blonde at a club for a charity concert I got invited to. She looked at me a couple of times and I was sure checking her out simply because she was attractive…only to realize after she’d left that it was \*\*Aimee Mann \*\*and she must’ve been waiting for me to approach her and acknowledge I recognized her since I was grabbing surreptitious glances…when in fact I was just acting like a married horndog with no game left in my tank… …then I met Lisa Loeb. Yeah, nothing there either… ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/42 "2012-03-23T19:24:14Z")
IANACanadian, but here in the state of Georgia, the laws are written similarly, in that support is based off an expectation of wages rather than the wages themselves. If a guy makes $50,000 a year at the time of divorce, and then later loses his job, through his own fault or not, it is expected that he will attain employment at a similar rate of pay. The idea behind this is supposed to be to prevent a guy from quiting a lucrative career and taking up as a convenience store clerk in order to pay less support. The unfortunate reality behind it, and one I have seen hit many a guy, is that they lose their jobs either through goverment downsizing (this is a defense contracting heavy town) or through other lay offs, and then no matter how hard they try, they cannot get another position that comes close to paying what they were making. Often times, this is because they had worked their way in to a position that was overpaid to begin with, through longevity within a company, but now have an expectation of salary attached to them that other companies won’t touch; even if said guy is willing to take a huge pay cut, other companies prefer to hire someone used to making less. Equally as screwed is that lower wage jobs don’t want them either. I myself have tried numerous times to get night work in retail stores like Walmart and such, but never get a call back even when they are advertising as hiring. I finally approached a manager and asked why, and was told straight out that they won’t hire someone with my qualifications because it has been their experience that people with a high degree of experience and education quit too soon after being trained, because they don’t like the lower wages. Getting the court even consider lowering the support amounts is damned near impossible. I’ve seen many a guy fight it, and every one of them lost. I have one friend who went from being a mid-level manager at a defense contractor to working part time at a book store, living in a crack neighborhood for free (the building is being renovated and they need someone living there to keep the crack heads from stealing the pipes and wiring), and has nothing left in his name beyond third-hand furniture and clothes…and the state still won’t lower his support. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/43 "2012-03-23T19:40:25Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I was always disappointed in him as the “color man” on _Celebrity Poker Showdown_. He’s a great comedic actor and a really nice guy, but he’s not the type of quick-wit comedian for that sort of thing and it just didn’t work. There was a short-lived improv show called “Thank God You’re Here!” for which he was a judge. I thought he was a bit too supportive, telling everyone how much he enjoyed what they did. I kept hoping for him to tell someone (and many of them deserved it) all the funny choices they didn’t make. But I doubt it was entirely his fault. I’m sure there was a production decision there. I meet famous people from time to time, and I’ve never said something so perfect. Bravo! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/44 "2012-03-23T19:43:40Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > His alimony and child support payments are 400 percent of his current income. > [@WordMan](#): > > Jeez!! How does something like \*that \*work?! > [@LionelHutz405](#): > > The amount is based on his income at the time. It’s high because he was making a lot of money then. There is no adjustment for a decrease in his income. He is still expected to pay based on an income he no longer has. Men go to jail as ‘dead beat dads’ for this. > [@DCnDC](#): > > Apparently not, at least [according to Dave Foley](http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/kids-hall-member-dave-foley-claims-t-afford-20110204-123011-544.html). … According to him, he appealed and was told no: the kids’ lives were “set in amber” at the time of the divorce, and he is obligated to maintain that income under all circumstances. Granted, of course that interview is obviously entirely one-sided, and doesn’t take into account the high probability that, I personally believe, he signed the agreement with the assumption that his career was skyrocketing and he’d always earn the same income as at the time if not many times more. Obviously that did not happen. Actually, there is more to the story. Foley habitually leaves out the part that when he petitioned the court to reduce his child support obligation, the court asked for him to produce proof of his current income and texts of his employment contracts, and, without explanation, he refused to do so. Now why he would refuse to do that is something that’s not clear. I’ll see if I can find the newspaper article that I read on this matter. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/45 "2012-03-23T19:45:04Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > I’ve long imagined that if I met a celebrity that I legitimately liked, I would humbly tell them that I really enjoyed their work in \_\_\_\_\_ and then leave them alone. Or better yet, just catch their eye and nod. In my imagination, I always fill the blank with an obscure but underrated role. I would want to compliment them on a movie or show very few ever did. Like telling Tom Hanks that I loved From the Earth to the Moon and John Adams. Well, you can tell him you loved Dave Foley in _Earth to the Moon_ (in which he had a brief rear nude scene as I recall).😉 Looking up some articles on Foley’s situation, he seems to freely admit he pissed away a lot of his money when he was making megabucks. The amount of support isn’t even _that_ unreasonable: $10,700 per month- for a name actor you wouldn’t think it would be that hard to make enough to send that. Of course he’d probably have to make at least $500,000 per year to pay it and to support himself/pay his agent & dues/pay his taxes, but even so there are actors no better known than Foley who make that in a few episodes of a sitcom. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/46 "2012-03-23T19:45:53Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I said the right thing to Dave Foley … You were lucky. It’s a good thing he didn’t panic, flee back to the mothership, and order the Earth to be destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/47 "2012-03-23T19:52:36Z")
> [@Woeg](#): > > IANACanadian, but here in the state of Georgia, the laws are written similarly, in that support is based off an expectation of wages rather than the wages themselves. If a guy makes $50,000 a year at the time of divorce, and then later loses his job, through his own fault or not, it is expected that he will attain employment at a similar rate of pay. The idea behind this is supposed to be to prevent a guy from quiting a lucrative career and taking up as a convenience store clerk in order to pay less support. Really? There was a rash of divorced fathers in Georgia giving up lucrative careers in order to be paid a pittance working as unskilled labourers? ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/48 "2012-03-23T19:52:59Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Of course he’d probably have to make at least $500,000 per year to pay it and to support himself/pay his agent & dues/pay his taxes, but even so there are actors no better known than Foley who make that in a few episodes of a sitcom. I think it’s reasonable to assume he is making as much money as he can right now. I doubt he is doing the comedy club circuit and turning down sticoms that pay much more just to avoid paying his ex. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/49 "2012-03-23T19:56:30Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Really? There was a rash of divorced fathers in Georgia giving up lucrative careers in order to be paid a pittance working as unskilled labourers? _shrug_ I know guys who have done pretty much that. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/50 "2012-03-24T00:37:49Z")
I’ve also heard co-workers say they’d do this. They say they would quit their job if they had to pay their wife a percentage of their salary. Usually with a “That would show the bitch” added. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/51 "2012-03-24T06:56:37Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > His alimony and child support payments are 400 percent of his current income. I was going to express surprise he was flying economy but this explains it. Worse yet, he gave a up a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother to take the lead in a Sitcom and the Sitcom got canceled. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/52 "2012-03-24T06:57:06Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > He asked where I was from; I replied and then said “you’re Canadian, right?” and he said “yeah - _ **Tarahna** _” hitting the word Toronto hard with a local accent. It was funny. I thought he was from Wisconsin.😉 (Running gag on News Radio) ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/53 "2012-03-24T08:30:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve also heard co-workers say they’d do this. They say they would quit their job if they had to pay their wife a percentage of their salary. Usually with a “That would show the bitch” added. Big difference between saying you’d do it and actually doing it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/54 "2012-03-24T14:55:31Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > Big difference between saying you’d do it and actually doing it, though. I knew at least one guy who followed through. ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/55 "2012-03-26T11:39:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I knew at least one guy who followed through. I know a few who did so before the law changed as well. I have no idea how epidemic it was, but it was enough to have the law changed around 4-5 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/56 "2012-03-26T14:11:58Z")
Well, my brother got a divorce agreement then had his income plummet, here, in Ontario, and was able to appeal to the family court to have his payments reduced. It wasn’t even especially difficult all he had to do was appeal and file paperwork to demonstrate said plummet. So I know it’s entirely possible. Why Dave Foley can’t do it, I can’t imagine. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/57 "2012-03-26T14:17:41Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Well, my brother got a divorce agreement then had his income plummet, here, in Ontario, and was able to appeal to the family court to have his payments reduced. It wasn’t even especially difficult all he had to do was appeal and file paperwork to demonstrate said plummet. So I know it’s entirely possible. Why Dave Foley can’t do it, I can’t imagine. Mr. Foley did in fact submit a Motion to Vary, but he lost his case. Why? I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/58 "2012-03-26T14:28:33Z")
[Here’s](http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/article/952260--comedian-dave-foley-fears-arrest-owes-500-000-in-child-support?bn=1) a clue: > [@](#): > > “I have no comment on the scope of the payments, except that the arrears arose during times when Mr. Foley was making a very large income. Mr. Foley has tried to have the amounts changed a number of times, and after full hearings, his requests have been denied,” [Southey’s lawyer Jacqueline] Mills wrote in an email to the Star. “ **Mr. Foley was ordered to provide details of his employment contracts. He has not done so, so we do not know what his income is.** ” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/59 "2012-03-26T15:54:14Z")
The [Divorce Act](http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/D-3.4/page-10.html#h-11) specifically allows for a change in support orders, including retroactive changes, due to a material change in circumstances. > [@](#): > > **17.** (1) A court of competent jurisdiction may make an order varying, rescinding or suspending, prospectively or retroactively, > > (a) a support order or any provision thereof on application by either or both former spouses; or > > … > > (4) Before the court makes a variation order in respect of a child support order, the court shall satisfy itself that a change of circumstances as provided for in the applicable guidelines has occurred since the making of the child support order or the last variation order made in respect of that order. > Marginal note: So why hasn’t he been successful in his applications? without reading the decisions, it’s hard to say, but **Acsenray** points to a significant factor: to get a variation for a material change in circumstances, such as a substantial drop in income, you have to, oh I don’t know, maybe file proof about the substantial drop in income with the other party and the court. If he’s not done so, as the lawyer for his ex-wife suggests, that’s a likely explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592/60 "2012-03-26T16:00:56Z")
> [@LionelHutz405](#): > > The amount is based on his income at the time. It’s high because he was making a lot of money then. There is no adjustment for a decrease in his income. He is still expected to pay based on an income he no longer has. Men go to jail as ‘dead beat dads’ for this. No, this is not correct, at least not in Canada. See the passage from the Divorce Act in my previous post. Variation is always a possibility. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-said-the-right-thing-to-dave-foley/616592.md?page=4)