Hey Dad's, found a web story you will not like....

[kiddosmom]

Might want to add this guy to the e-mail listing for protesting.


http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/columnists/s_292557.html

Deadbeat dads work to avoid manhood

By Mike Seate
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 13, 2005

It takes only a few moments of pleasure to make a baby, but a lifetime of work to raise one. One would think the reality of that old expression would be enough to scare folks away from parenthood.

I've found just the opposite to be true.

Each time I venture out to interview local men for a story, I run into deadbeat dads. How can I tell? It's easy.

These fellows owe so much in delinquent child support payments, they won't even give me their full names.

White or black, city or suburb, it doesn't really matter. Mr. Duck Responsibility is everywhere.

Earlier this week, I met him about a half-dozen times while researching a column on a grocery store planned for Uptown. I approached men at work, in bars and guys just chillin' on corners.

Sure, they wanted to talk about the lack of retail outlets in their community, the absence of jobs and the three decades of corporate disinvestment that's helped turn the neighboring Hill District into one of Pittsburgh's largest slums.

What they did not want to share were their last names, where they live and details about what they do for a living.

"Naw, man, the ex-old lady sees my name in your paper and next thing you know my butt's back in court," was a typical response.

At this point, I'm likely to suffer a heart seizure if I ever meet a local man who gleefully announces that not only does he pay child support, he's two, maybe three months ahead on his payments.

That's unlikely to happen. Instead, I meet guys who prefer to work under the table to avoid paying child support, or, worse, men who'd rather not work at all because the courts can mandate child support deductions up to 55 percent of a paycheck.

Patrick Quinn, chief administrator of the Allegheny County Family Court, said the court has 80,000 active cases. Veteran family attorney Derwin Rushing describes the issue as "a huge problem."

Though it is far easier these days to catch up with deadbeat dads thanks to a law allowing the courts to order deductions from their paychecks, Rushing said men continue to find ways to beat the system.

"They can still work under the table or try to reach an agreement on how much they pay with the mothers, but those arrangements are unenforceable," he said.

After years of grappling with the child support issue for his clients, Rushing is refusing to take on more family law cases.

"It got to the point where it was like babysitting adults. All I ever heard from the guys was whining about how they can't pay all this money," he said. "I tell them they should have thought of that before they took their pants off."

It's tough to determine who's more responsible in these cases, the men who father children into poverty or the women who see nothing wrong with having babies with guys they're neither married nor particularly committed to.

Either way, the kids lose -- and we end up with a city full of men with no last names.

Mike Seate is a staff writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at (412) 320-7845 or e-mail him at [email protected].

[Brent]

>Deadbeat dads work to avoid manhood
>
>By Mike Seate
>TRIBUNE-REVIEW
>Thursday, January 13, 2005


Article summary: Mike Seate is a complete and total dickhead.

[kiddosmom]

Thnks Brent, I agree...

[c_alexander]

Ignorance in the media prevails again I'm writing this guy AND his boss. I think he should be fired

[FatherTime]

He said "At this point, I'm likely to suffer a heart seizure if I ever meet a local man who gleefully announces that not only does he pay child support, he's two, maybe three months ahead on his payments."


If he was truly informed and educated about the laws and how they interpret this idea of paying ahead, then he would know that the money would be considered a gift and he would still have to pay the next months support.  

So how can this smart man educate me?  How can what he wrote improve mankind and womankind.  It's just fanning the stupidity flames.

He's in La La land.  

He should write some more, so we can see how really ignorant he is on the subject.

It's still

FatherTime.

[wendl]

Well I sent this Mike an email and explained some things to him lol and I also invited him to come to SPARC to become educated on these matters.

**These are my opinions, they are not legal advice**

[c_alexander]

     Dear Mr. Seate,

I find your recent story entitled "Deadbeat dads work to avoid manhood" close minded, ignorant and irresponsible. It is very apparent by this story that you have wrote that you are not properly informed as to the true nature of child support or the non-custodial fathers who are forced to pay it.

To begin with, no man should EVER have to pay to have someone else raise their child, especially when they are more then willing to step up and be responsible fathers. These mythical Deadbeat dads of which you speak are victims of the legal system. Often having their constitutional rights trampled on by the courts systems. A prime example of this is my own case.

I was divorced in 1997 after I caught my ex wife cheating on me. I was shocked and surprised by the act, but she had been planning this for sometime. Because she was prepared, she was able to effortlessly take temporary custody of our 2 year old daughter and within the blink of an eye I was on the defensive. I hired a lawyer, researched all my options, and did everything I could to win back custody of my daughter. A child support order was filed almost immediately. The courts, going against their own child support guidelines ordered me to pay a percentage based of my companies TOTAL income not including business expenses.  I was self employed at the time with a company that was less then a year old. Typically most companies will not turn a profit for the first 5 ears of operations. Needless to say I was unable to meet these outrageous payments. My monthly child support was more than my own living expenses for a month. Despite being told countless times by the experts, including my lawyer, that I was fighting a loosing battle and that typically and historically judge nation wide side with the women. I hired a private social worker to come into each of the houses and make a recommendation to the court as to where the child would be best. In the initial report I was recommended by the social worker, however in court the social worker changed her tune and told the court to award my ex wife custody. I was held in contempt for not keeping my child support up and had to borrow from family and friends in order to stay out of jail. For 5 years I struggled to make a living while paying this outrageous child support. Unable to pay or save enough to hire a lawyer and have the child support amount reduced I was falling further and further behind and becoming one of these mythical Deadbeat Dads that you speak of. Everything came to a head however in the fall of 2002 when my ex wife told me that she was moving to Colorado with our daughter. Once again I was forced to beg borrow and steal from family and friends to afford a lawyer and take my ex wife to court to try and prevent her from taking our daughter away from me. $5,000in lawyers bills and 6 months later a judge allowed her to move. I was awarded a ridiculous 14% of the year parenting time with my daughter, a weekly phone call and unlimited e-mail access....all of which my ex wife has broken, but I am unable to hold her accountable for because I can not afford to go back to court. In an effort to be a part of my daughters life I am scrimping and saving every dime I can get my hands on and moving over 1,000 miles away from all of my family and friends here in Indiana to be with my daughter in Colorado hopefully sometime this summer.

Recently I have joined a class action lawsuit: http://www.indianacrc.org/ in the hopes of putting an end once and for all to the unjust and unfair "family laws" not only in Indiana but across the nation.  As a member of an online support forum: http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/ I have seen first hand the pain and suffering the court systems have put on fathers. I have seen men commit suicide because the pain and suffering have become too much for them. I have seen judges order custody arrangements that were anything but constitutional, and had absolutely no concern for the best interests of the children involved. In my own case when my ex wife moved the courts spent less then 5 minutes deliberating how and when I would see my daughter, and over 2 hours debating how much money I was going to pay in child support and who owed who what. It was obvious that the courts cared far more for the money involved then the kids.

In your new story you claim that these men you talked to would not give you their last names for fear of ending back up in court. In my experiences both firsthand and online with the court system I do not blame these men one bit for not wanting to go back to court. Would you wish to be put in a court that did not have your best interests or that of your child at heart but rather was interested in only your money? Why are the courts favoring mothers by granting them custody when it has been said time and time again by child psychologists and other professionals who have studied firsthand the effects of divorce on children, that it is best for the children if both parents are involved EQUALLY in a child's life? (see article at: http://www.gocrc.com/research/ )

In your article you delve into the realm of the "deadbeat father", but have you done any real research into the myths behind the deadbeat fathers? How many of these so called deadbeat fathers are thrown into jail for not paying child support and end up getting even further behind? How many are denied visitation to their children (yes many states are now denying visitation with kids if child support is not current)? Have you compared the percentage of men that do not pay their child support to the percentage of women who do not pay their child support? If you were to really research this issue more you would see that "Deadbeat Dads" are a myth and that the true deadbeats are the mothers....and more often then not they are the ones that get away with this behavior. http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/5910/Baskerville/Deadbeats1.pdf

Mr. Seate, what is needed now more then ever is NOT another story reinforcing the stereotypes of deadbeat dads, but rather the TRUTH. What is needed by people in the media such as yourself is fair and balanced reporting of the facts. If you are as you say truly interested in the welfare of these children that are caught in the middle would it not make more sense to help get the fathers involved with their children's lives instead of simply getting their paychecks? Can a father's paycheck tuck a child in bed at night or be there be a role model? So many of these fathers are put into situations in which they are unable to truly be fathers to their children not by choice, but because they fear the legal repercussions if they can not meet this outrageous financial burdens put upon them by the legal system. What is need now more then ever is REFORM in the family law system. Today being Mr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday I am reminded of his struggle for freedom and equality for all people. I believe that his vision holds true to this issue as well. It is obvious to all that choose to see it that there is discrimination in this system. I for one choose not to ignore it . I certainly hope that after reading my e-mail you also choose to open your eyes to the reality of this matter and all who have been adversely affected by it.

Sincerely,

Christopher. W. Alexander

[email protected]
http://help-a-dad.blogspot.com/