penkitten said:
children are the financial obligation of their parents, and when their parents can not afford to care for them, or choose not to afford to care for them, then it becomes the financial obligation of all tax paying citizens to see to it that they are cared for, which is where funding for food stamps and afdc and child coordinated center care and medicaid comes in.
do you want the financial obligations of these children all over the country that are not yours or do you wish that their 2 parents that brought them into the world would at least try to support them on their own?
there are lots of dead beat moms out there too.
I agree 100% with this. It is the parents obligation and NOT mine (as a tax payer) to take care of the child.
However, the amount of child support requested from some parents and the way the law deals with it LEAVE a lot to be desired. And there is the issue of abortion (non-married couples) in which the woman has a choice to choose, but the man doesn't. Especially if he doesn't want the child.
But that's another topic.
I do agree 100% with the essense of your quote above.
when getting a divorce settlement, child custody is now generally given as "joint custody" with either one parent as primary and the other as having visitation or 50/50 split. if one parent has primary custody, they are entitled to child support from the other parent and tax refunds and the divorce papers still say how the visitation terms will go. if the parents have a 50/50 split, usually no support is exchanged, they take turns with the tax refunds and the divorce papers will stay say exactly how the terms of the split will go.
In the 50/50 split...UNLESS mutually agreed (by both parents)...then what courts typically do is see the combine gross monthly income and then determine how much (% wise) comes from the mom and how much comes from the dad.
One that is determined...they go to a table and determine how much of that gross income belongs to the children. And based on the % that each parent contribute, they determine which parent should be giving child support.
Example (make up numbers and figures):
Mother makes $4000.
Father makes $6000.
Total combined is $10,000.
Of which the "tables" determine the children are entitled to $1,000 (make-up number for illustration purposes).
Mother makes 40% of total combined and father makes 60%. And they have 50/50 split. Therefore, Mother is responsible for $400 (40% of 1k) and the father is responsible for $600 (60% of 1K).
Therefore, $600 - $400 = $200. That's the amount of money the dad owns the mom. (Which is unfair -regardless of sex, because both have 50/50 split and in any case half of $200 is $100. So, he should be giving her $100 instead, but doesn't work that way. By giving her $100...everybody balance up to 500 per person. But the law makes him/her pay more due to some idiot that put this tables together).
Now, let's assume father ALSO pays $100 monthly in daycare and another $50 in health insurance for children. That is an additional $150 coming out of his pocket and therefore that is money that "she owes the dad". So, $150 x 40% (her percentage) = $60.
So, instead of giving her the $200...he is giving her $140 (that is 200-60).
That's typically how it works in some states.