-=> Quoting Jeff Smith to Danny Ceppa on 09-03-08  23:26 <=-

 JS> I tried to ask them where they got their figures. I remember the
 JS> hearing officer stating that they were given a set of income figures
 JS> but couldn't disclose the source. I provided proof of income for the
 JS> previous two years. They were not interested in anything I had to say.
 JS> I remember noticing by their demeanor that they had made up their
 JS> minds of the outcome prior to entering the room and were somewhat
 JS> annoyed that I chose to question them or dipute their figures.

"Don't bother me with the facts, my mind's made up..."  Yeah...  it
happens in lots of similar situations, too... usually in the "got you
over a barrel" type...  :(  

 JS> The person that really deserves the support often times doesn't
 JS> see much of any of it. I don't mean to suggest that all or most
 JS> custodial parents are this way. The flaw is in the system. I just
 JS> happened to of met someone once years ago that was good at exploiting
 JS> the system and people. She by the way gets child support from two
 JS> other sources.

The trouble is, there are some manipulative custodial parents and there
are also some deadbeat non-custodial parents.  The first work the
system, the latter predispose the system to be skeptical of honest ones.
Both give the system a bad reputation and make it harder for it to work
justly or equitably...

 JS> I guess my primary complaint isn't with the average custodial
 JS> parent. I would imagine that most use the support to offset the
 JS> money they would have otherwise used to feed and clothe the child.

For many, the support really is needed just to keep shelter, food and
clothing provided... not for luxuries at all...

 JS> My main complaint is based on the way the system is setup and those
 JS> parents that knowingly exploit the system for their own purposes.

And problems there certainly are.  It would help if the system had
better ways of determining need and ability to pay... and to verify the
statements and situations submitted.  But I realize I'm dreaming here. 
As I told (I think it was) Allen... I've not had any direct experience,
but have various family and friends on both sides of the equations, so
I've seen many instances of abusing the system or of it not working as
it should.  I've known of dads that quit jobs and then work under the
table to avoid paying child support... and get away with it.  And I've
known of dads that lose their job because of health reasons and are
never able to convince the courts that it wasn't on purpose so have to
continue paying at the same rate, even with no income.  And of dads that
don't have as good a job as the courts thought they had, and fall behind
on their support payments... and then have their driver's license
suspended until they catch up, so then they CAN'T get to work to earn
anything... Like that helps anything at all... 

 JS> Sorry everyone.... Didn't mean to rant away quite so much. 
 
It's a rant-type of subject...  ;)
 
ttyl     neb

... Therapy helps, but screaming obscenities is cheaper.

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