Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 10:16:12 -0800 (PST)
From: Gary Bremer garyb7000@yahoo.com
Subject: Child support guidelines
To: patricia.miles@pacourts.us
Ms. Miles,
I am writing you regarding the current child support guidelines.
Currently child support guidelines are based upon studies which utilize intact
households. However, studies based upon intact households are completely unjust
and inappropriate for the following reasons:
- The federal government does not tell people in intact households how to spend
their money.
- Intact households are practically non-existent in child support cases.
With the above taken into consideration, it would also stand to reason that
the practice of utilizing studies based upon intact households would be
unconstitutional for the following reasons:
- If the government does not tell people in intact households how to spend
their money, how can it use this same reasoning to determine how people in
non-intact households to spend their money?
This was the very same reasoning which was utilized in the 1995 decision by
the Pennsylvania Supreme court regarding college education expenses in child
support cases: divorced parents could be required to pay for a child's college
education while married ones could not. Utilizing this reasoning it would also
stand that: divorced parents could be required to spend a specific amount on the
care of their children while married ones could not.
If intact households are practically non-existent in child support cases, why
utilize this as a basis for child support guidelines? Being that intact
households are practically nonexistent in child support cases renders use of
these studies completely unjustifiable due to the fact that non-intact
households are classified the same as intact households, and as such use of this
practice would be considered to be a direct violation of the fourteenth
amendment of the US constitution which all US citizens are afforded.
As a result of these findings, the basis upon use of studies utilizing intact
households should be abandoned in exchange for just and appropriate studies that
take into consideration non-intact households. Additionally, the use of
studies that utilize intact households has been proven to be capable of
producing child support awards that do not reflect the actual costs of raising a
child. As a result, I am also attaching a link for the cost shares model, which
more accurately depicts the costs of raising a child. Please consider use of
this model in setting child support guidelines. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely
Gary Bremer
