Child Support Wants Reforming

In New York, a noncustodial parent of three children is expected to fork over 29% of his gross income for child support. With two kids, it's 25%. One kid gets 17%. On top of that, he has to pay all or a portion of medical, educational and child care expenses. This doubtless deters many men from leaving their wives no matter how horrible they have become. How can he live on what's left? Perhaps he can take up with a divorced mother who is receiving child support from her former husband so as to break even. Or he can move in with his parents or siblings. He might find that he just has to stick it out until the children leave home.

If a man falls behind in his child support, he can be jailed. There aren't many other debts that can land you in the hoosegow. Of course, it's hard to earn money to pay child support when you're in stir. I reckon the system is designed as a shake down to get men's relations to fork over money to rescue the guy.

I reckon that the child support system is completely backwards. If the father has the kids half the time or more, he still has to pay the ex. If he has them rarely, he still has to pay even though his enjoyment from the children is greatly reduced. The custodial parent gets almost all the entertainment value of the children, and the noncustodial parent foots the bill. The system acts as if children are all burden and no blessing! Why would anyone ever have kids if there's no payoff?

Given that children more than make up for their costs in joy and satisfaction and the other rewards of parenting, perhaps the custodial parent should pay the noncustodial parent compensation for the loss of the society of the children. This arrangement would enable more people to end unhappy marriages and would encourage custodial parents to share the joys of children with noncustodials. There would probably be more joint custody arrangements than we see under the current system.

But what about families where the custodial parent cannot afford to take care of the children? Then that parent shouldn't have taken on the role of custodian. That parent should have thought of that when that parent decided to reproduce with that deadbeat. Besides, everyone else shouldn't have to suffer because a few families here and there end up in trouble.

Society should not make children more of a burden than they already are as this just reduces overall fertility. The current child support scheme treats children as burdens and, in fact, makes them such. Let's get the state out of the equation and let parents freely work out the allocation of the benefits and burdens of parenting on their own.

Moreover, the current child support scheme involves an intrusive child support enforcement apparatus that costs everyone money and freedom. It is not fair that parents make the allocation of the benefits and burdens of parenting my problem by causing me to be taxed for courts and other coercive agencies. Leave me out of it, please.