Post Dissolution Economics
"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language.
Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?
--George Carlin
The links below will provide evidence that there are myths and false beliefs generated by feminists that women are the victims and suffer losses in marriage and therefore need to be protected with outdated laws that serve no other purpose than to violate the constitutional rights of men and impose un-necessary financial hardships on them, frequently for the remainder of their lives.
It is rare, in most articles discussing the losses suffered in dissolution, that mention is made of the equitable distribution of marital assets, home, pension plans and the like that the wife receives. Frequently these distributions are quite sizeable and are in addition to alimony and child support payments. It is hard to believe that there is much loss suffered by the wife in these instances.
The equitable distribution is meant to equalize the wealth accumulation resulting from the efforts of both parties during the marriage. That part going to the wife, which is frequently a larger portion of the split, is her compensation for her contributions to the marriage and loss of career opportunities.
In agreeing to be married, there is an implied consent that she understands the risks of getting married and loss of career opportunities (if child-care is necessary) and that she willingly agrees to accept that risk. No one is forcing or coercing her into a marriage. It is a voluntary agreement on her part resulting from a meeting of the minds of both parties. What she receives at the end of the marriage is payment for her share of the contribution to the marriage. She should be entitled to no more or no less.
We know how the mainstream media and such women’s groups as NOW demonize men by placing false labels and belittling titles of dubious credibility such as deadbeat dads, women and child abusers, domestic violence perpetrators, sexual abuse, etc. ad nauseum, myths propagated with the use of false statistics, misinformation, stereotypes, and partial information.
This demonization has lead to a misandrist mindset against men that has contributed to their harsh treatment in court and judge’s propensity to incarcerate them on unproven allegations. The statistically high rate of incarceration frequently is a result of the economic hardships on men resulting from the inequitable and excessive burdens of support payments as seen below.
Even though the articles below refer to child support, you can normally conclude that alimony support payments are involved as it is rare that men are paying child support and not paying alimony at the same time.
It’s time these myths were dispelled!
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One of the reasons for the dramatic increases in child support guidelines over 20 years is the pervasive and mistaken notion that divorced fathers gain economically from divorce while women suffer from it. The myth stems from a now-discredited study conducted over two decades ago by feminist Lenore Weitzman, author of the 1985 book The Divorce Revolution. Weitzman concluded that women's standard of living after divorce dropped by three quarters while men's rose over 40%. The media trumpeted her research–some have called it one of the most widely reported studies in media history–and it led to sharp increases in child support guidelines. However, years later Weitzman was forced to admit that her findings were vastly overstated, due to a huge mathematical error. Read the whole article:
MSNBC Pushes Myth That in Divorce, Men Gain and Women Lose
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But what we’re about to tell you is not the usual story about those deadbeat dads. Because it turns out that much of what we’ve heard about them is distorted.
The distortion began with US Census data that said half of divorced fathers don’t pay all the child support they owe and with this book written by sociologist Lenore Weitzman. It’s claim that men prosper after divorce while women and children suffer terribly got lots of publicity. Read the whole article:
Sanford Braver on the Myth That Men Gain, Women Lose in Divorce
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Leslie Kaufman of The New York Times wrote an article titled "When Child Support Is Due, Even the Poor Find Little Mercy" (2/19/05). She addressed the issue of "child support arrears". An excerpt follows:
"About 70 percent of the debt is owed by men who earn $10,000 a year or less, or have no recorded wage earnings at all, according to the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. Less than 4 percent is owed by men with incomes of more than $40,000."
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The Myth of the Successful Child Support System
Kasie Hunt of The Associated Press (11/30/06) reported: "A record 7 million people or one in every 32 American adults were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday
On The Open Society Institute website, I found a very important study regarding crucial factors that affect successful community reintegration of ex-prisoners in Baltimore. One of the factors affecting success or failure post-release was finances. An excerpt from the Baltimore study follows:
"Finances: Sixty-two percent of respondents said they were in debt because of child support and other court-imposed fees, which created a significant obstacle as they tried to support themselves financially."
If people who are incarcerated and released cannot keep up with unrealistic demands for child support while they are in jail, this may contribute to their having to return to incarceration. How can they survive financially and support their families under these misguided policies? Chances are great that they will be returned to prison if they continue to fall behind on paying child support. Furthermore, once they have an incarceration record, finding employment will be more difficult.
The majority of these noncustodial parents are "deadbroke," not so-called "deadbeat." Many of them are in as equally dire financial straits as the custodial parents to whom they pay child support. This is not the picture that we see portrayed, for the most part, in mainstream media.
Of course, there are some parents who willfully and consciously refuse to support their children. This is wrong. Research shows that they are not in the majority.
I believe that, too frequently, when the system incarcerates or uses other punitive measures against allegedly "delinquent" child support payers, it is, in effect, punishing them merely for being poor, ill, or unemployed. As my colleagues, Murray Davis and Dianna Thompson, of the National Family Justice Association wrote, and I paraphrase, society holds noncustodial parents to an unattainable standard to never become unemployed, never become ill or disabled,[12] or to never get layed off, downsized, or outsourced in a poor economy. When they inevitably fail to live up to this unattainable standard, they are criminalized, stigmatized, and, too frequently, jailed.
* Woman Convicted in Husband's Acid Murder
MARRIAGE STRIKE: ALIMONY LAWS DESTROYING THE VERY FABRIC AND BUILDING BLOCK OF OUR SOCIETY AND NATION
* Men refuse marriage, women lie to save face.
* Men Are Brainwashed by “Bachelorism” Be sure to read the comments and click on the links in the comments.
* No Feminism Nazis. Lots of articles debunking feminists misandry.
EXAMPLES OF A JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND JUDGES GONE AWRY:
* Move to impeach federal judge is a rarity
EGREGIOUS EXAMPLES OF OUR “INJUSTICE” SYSTEM
LEGAL INFORMATION AND RESEARCH CORNER:
* Marriage Statistics Not Gathered – What is the government trying to hide?
INTERESTING READING:
* The Experts of Divorce Get A Sizable Piece of the Action
* Will This Marriage Last? - Does Living Together Before Marriage Help the Odds?
Be sure to visit these sites: www.abolish-alimony.org/ and www.alimonycentral.org
Join our Forum discussion group:
Join the Alliance For Freedom From Alimony, Inc. to support the fight to abolish alimony. http://www.alimonyreform.org/membership.html
posted by D. Quixote at 10:51 PM
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