|
Quantum Leap in State Socialism by
Joe Blow The
American Law Institute recently concluded its ten-year study of family
law and has concluded that what Translation:
those who have should be forced by the State to give even more to those
who don’t. Being single should not offer any protection from the
State. Let’s also extend the rights of divorce to cohabitating
domestic partners. That way we (family law attorneys) can afford a new
BMW for each of our children every year instead of just every
other year. “One
conclusion, for example, is that if a spouse has committed adultery, it
should not affect a judge's decision about alimony or marital
property.” Translation:
let’s remove any residual traces of responsibility for the breakup of
the marriage, notwithstanding the fact that divorce is not in the best
interest of society. “The
report says that a parent's sexual orientation should not be a factor in
decisions on child custody, and that domestic partnerships should be
treated like marriage in many important respects.” Translation:
if we do this we will have a new, bigger cash cow for family law
attorneys. “The
recommendations, developed after an exhaustive review of court cases and
consultations with many experts, are addressed to judges, state
legislators and other state officials.” Translation:
we (family law attorneys) know what’s in our best interest. Now all we
have to do is get the State to buy into our newest shakedown scam. “In
general, the institute said, ‘domestic partners are two persons of the
same or opposite sex, not married to one another, who for a significant
period of time share a primary residence and a life together as a
couple.’” Translation:
we just made up a new legal term with a definition that is so vague that
it will include as many people as possible, to maximize our income
potential. “At
the end of an intimate relationship, the report said, ‘a domestic
partner is entitled to compensatory payments’ similar to alimony ‘on
the same basis as a spouse.’” Translation:
since we just made up a new class of victims, let’s proclaim that
these heretofore-nonexistent victims are somehow now also entitled to a
share of someone else’s income. “Likewise,
the report said, when domestic partners split up, their property should
be divided in the same way a divorce court would divide the property of
a husband and wife.” Translation:
we (family law attorneys) know that unless you (the State) adopt our
recommendations, the possibility exists that sometime, somewhere,
someone who deserves nothing will actually get nothing. This
cannot be tolerated. We must all work together to ensure that all
outcomes are equal, notwithstanding logic, common sense, principles of
fair play, and minor details like private property. “Grace
Ganz Blumberg, a co-author of the report, said the recommendations
indicated that ‘we were more willing to redistribute income and
wealth’ than many courts and state legislatures have been.” Translation:
it’s very easy to be philanthropic with someone else’s income,
especially when you also stand to gain from that forced giving. “As
a result, said Ms. Blumberg, a law professor at the Translation:
this way we kill two birds with one stone. It would generate more of an
incentive for women to file for divorce and those already divorced would
return to court seeking more child support, thereby generating more
income for family law attorneys. “The
institute does not encourage domestic partnership or cohabitation as an
alternative to marriage, but says that domestic partners, like spouses,
incur economic obligations to each other when they live together for any
significant time.” Translation:
people are unable to handle their own economic affairs, therefore we
(family law attorneys) must intervene to ensure equal outcomes in all
private, personal relationships, whether blessed by the State or not. “The
institute's proposals would expand the number of people who can claim
custody of a child or visitation rights. Such claims could be made not
only by the legal parents, but also by a ‘de facto parent,’ defined
as an individual who has lived with the child at least two years and
‘regularly performed a majority of the caretaking functions’ without
being paid.” Translation:
your children are not really yours. Custody and visitation are subject
to the whims and claims of the State, based on recommendations from
“experts” who stand to gain from all litigation, especially custody
battles. “Under
existing state laws, judges usually award alimony on the basis of some
estimate of a person's need for help, but the American Law Institute
rejects that standard as vague and subjective. The institute says the
proper purpose of alimony is compensation for financial losses resulting
from the breakdown of a marriage, and it refers to alimony as
‘compensatory spousal payments.’” Translation:
we should ensure equal outcomes, regardless of fault or common sense. In
addition, we should look the other way as the court rewards miscreant
spouses, those who earn little or nothing, those who have never worked,
those who refuse to work, and the many women who file for divorce simply
because they know that the system is heavily skewed in their favor,
especially if there are children involved. “The
amount of such payments, the report says, should increase in proportion
to the duration of a marriage and the disparity in the spouses' incomes
at the time of divorce — two factors that can be measured objectively.
Mr. Ellman said payments under this rule would be ‘more generous than
the alimony awards that many courts now order. Moreover, he said, ‘the
usual result in the most compelling cases — the longest marriages —
would be to reduce substantially the gap in incomes of former spouses
after their divorce.’” Translation:
let’s ensure that those who have lived the good life while never
working a single day in their adult lives will still be able to continue
to live at the same standard of living after they have divorced
the provider. “The
institute also recommended changes in child support, to ensure that
children have ‘a standard of living not grossly inferior to that of
either parent.’ Under the proposal, more parents would be required to
contribute to the cost of a child's college education, and even graduate
and professional education. Parents ‘tend to underinvest in the
education of children with whom they do not reside,’ the report
said.” Translation:
let’s make many noncustodial parents child support slaves for life,
even after the child is an adult, in college, in graduate school, or
pursuing a Ph.D. We (family law attorneys) know much better than the
parents what is right, affordable, and prudent in any family situation.
All we need to do is get the State to order it and you can be forced to
work for the rest of your life supporting your (or someone else’s)
grown children who may have their own spouses, children, homes,
mortgages, and careers. None
of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying
attention. Radical feminism is all but dead, fatherhood is almost
gaining respectability, and the divorce rate has stopped increasing.
Family law attorneys needed to turn elsewhere for some of their future
cash flow. The
recommendations of this study would create another huge class of
victims, increase the number of deadbeat parents, increase incentives to
divorce, increase incentives for future litigation, transfer new, huge
amounts of income and wealth from people who earned it to people who
didn’t, make many noncustodial parents child support slaves for life,
and line the pockets of thousands of family law attorneys for many years
to come. A
small price to pay for equal outcomes, don’t you think? The socialist
State will agree wholeheartedly. |
