4 ms·

He had extra expenses due to having a special needs son. His wife was pregnant and presumably not working at the time. Also, they probably had too nice of a hou

He had extra expenses due to having a special needs son. His wife was pregnant and presumably not working at the time. Also, they probably had too nice of a house if they had those other financial pressures. Their biggest financial problem was probably their impulse to overspend on big ticket items "because my family is worth it". If I recall correctly, his wife pressures Walter to go to an oncologist that wasn't on their plan. In general, teachers tend to have better than average healthcare options. Chemotherapy for newly discovered cancer is almost always covered. If it's not, local news stations would love a story about a local science teacher who gets cancer that the big bad insurance company won't cover. Me extrapolating here, but it's possible that they also spent big on different off-plan options for their son.

brownbat 10y ago
> Their biggest financial problem was probably their impulse to overspend on big ticket items Well, in part they had different accounting of their assets, since the wife viewed his social capital (as a cofounder of a massive biotech conglomerate) as a marketable asset, while his pride drove him to refuse to redeem that and yet spend as if he had access to it anyway. Walter's pride was not only his tragic flaw, but also a significant financial liability.
- sjg007 10y ago
  I didn't understand why the cofounder biotech conglomerate was necessary, except to give Walter and out he would not take and say 'hey he is smart but choosing a life of crime'
  - throwaway7767 10y ago
    It was necessary in order to present some of Walter White's personality traits - he takes his independence seriously, and he can be very stubborn. It sets the stage for later character development.
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    The biotech firm was to demonstrate options already taken. He already tried the "right way" to monetize his intelligence. And then, as the high school teacher, he has already tried "plan B", which is good enough for most people that fail to succeed in the only moonshot they can afford to take in their lifetimes, but it turns out that the healthcare in "plan B" really sucks. Those aren't just already explored options. They're the control group for Walter's scientific experiment. His hypothesis is that "There is nothing wrong with me. I'm a genius worth millions of dollars, and It's other people that have been holding me back." And the experiment designed to falsify the hypothesis is to just discard all of society's laws and morality and just get the money by any means necessary. The strawman argument of the show is that unfairness in society trickles down and becomes crime. Walter never would have become Heisenberg if his business partners hadn't screwed him out of his share of the company.
    - sjg007 10y ago
      Ok.. but Walter left the company and then sold his shares for $5k.. how was he screwed? He made the choice to sell them back.
the-dude 10y ago
He was already at the carwash before his cancer was diagnosed. From an American perspective your points may seem reasonable. I think in The Netherlands there is no teacher to be found having a second job in the service sector just for the money.
- ashark 10y ago
  Weekend and especially Summer jobs are really common for teachers here (US), when they're not too busy working toward masters and PhDs.

brownbat 10y ago

> Their biggest financial problem was probably their impulse to overspend on big ticket items Well, in part they had different accounting of their assets, since the wife viewed his social capital (as a cofounder of a massive biotech conglomerate) as a marketable asset, while his pride drove him to refuse to redeem that and yet spend as if he had access to it anyway. Walter's pride was not only his tragic flaw, but also a significant financial liability.

sjg007 10y ago
I didn't understand why the cofounder biotech conglomerate was necessary, except to give Walter and out he would not take and say 'hey he is smart but choosing a life of crime'
- throwaway7767 10y ago
  It was necessary in order to present some of Walter White's personality traits - he takes his independence seriously, and he can be very stubborn. It sets the stage for later character development.
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  The biotech firm was to demonstrate options already taken. He already tried the "right way" to monetize his intelligence. And then, as the high school teacher, he has already tried "plan B", which is good enough for most people that fail to succeed in the only moonshot they can afford to take in their lifetimes, but it turns out that the healthcare in "plan B" really sucks. Those aren't just already explored options. They're the control group for Walter's scientific experiment. His hypothesis is that "There is nothing wrong with me. I'm a genius worth millions of dollars, and It's other people that have been holding me back." And the experiment designed to falsify the hypothesis is to just discard all of society's laws and morality and just get the money by any means necessary. The strawman argument of the show is that unfairness in society trickles down and becomes crime. Walter never would have become Heisenberg if his business partners hadn't screwed him out of his share of the company.
  - sjg007 10y ago
    Ok.. but Walter left the company and then sold his shares for $5k.. how was he screwed? He made the choice to sell them back.

the-dude 10y ago

He was already at the carwash before his cancer was diagnosed. From an American perspective your points may seem reasonable. I think in The Netherlands there is no teacher to be found having a second job in the service sector just for the money.

ashark 10y ago
Weekend and especially Summer jobs are really common for teachers here (US), when they're not too busy working toward masters and PhDs.