Child Support Queens Praise Michigan's Mike Cox

MensNewsDaily.com ^ | February 24, 2004 | MND NEWSWIRE

[RogerFGay]

Lottery-Like Awards Crush Fathers, Make Mothers Rich
Child Support Queens Praise Michigan's Mike Cox

February 24, 2004

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By MND NEWSWIRE

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The largest child-support organization in the nation announced today that Michigan Attorney General Mike will receive its Golden Hearts Award.

The Association for Children for Enforcement of Support (ACES), a non- profit, child-advocacy organization with 50,000 members and 400 chapters in 48 states, recognized Cox for focusing attention on the $7 billion owed to Michigan children in unpaid child support. Past award recipients include New York Gov. George Pataki and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

"This award is a tribute to all the parents, government officials, community leaders, and ordinary citizens who have helped me bring attention to the epidemic of unpaid child support," stated Cox. "I am honored and privileged that the people of Michigan allow my office to attempt to help the 650,000 children get the child support they deserve."

ACES recognizes only four recipients annually for their leadership in helping children recover the amount owed to them in child support. ACES will make a formal presentation of the award to Cox in the next few weeks. "I worked with local bureaucracy for 16 years for support for my son and got very little, maybe $8,000," said a mother(1) who recently got resolution of her case. "Thanks to Mike Cox, in a month, I had a check for $120,000 and another for $225,000. It was like a fairytale."

Geraldine Jensen of ACES, who is well known for her obsessive efforts to misinform the public about child support issues (see: Associated Press: A Case Study in Dishonesty) is presenting an award to Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox (see: Michigan AG Linked to Organized Crime and Child Support Propaganda Haunts Michigan Papers). According to Jensen, Cox was chosen because of his establishment of a first-of-its kind program that prosecutes child support as a felony. Since establishing the child support division, Cox's office has collected more than $2 million, issued a total of 234 warrants and made 132 arrests. Cox focuses on those who can pay, but refuse to pay -- including heavyweight boxer James Toney, former NFL Detroit Lion and pro-bowler Bennie Blades, and several other Michigan professionals.

"Attorney General Mike Cox is a leader in the nation among attorneys general, tracking down law breakers who have abandoned their children," Jensen said. "He's taking some of the first real action across the country, treating non-support as a serious crime, a crime that causes poverty amongst children. It is particularly helpful to families. We think it's a really wonderful approach."

ACES also cited Cox's Paykids initiative as reason for honoring the attorney general.

Paykids is a public awareness program Cox established last October that features an interactive website to assist parents in recovering child support owed to their children; 39 billboards placed across Michigan to raise awareness on this issue; and a toll-free number for parents to communicate directly with the Attorney General's Child Support Division.

(1) Name withheld to protect identity of the child - and mother.

[FreedomAvatar]

You get a new job with a new social security number and different name. When the state takes custody of the kids away from you, your actual responsibilities are ended.

Unless you are designated "custodial parent", the state has indeed taken custody of your children from you. And you pay them for the privilege.

[marty60]

My brother-in-law is having the same problem. It is heartbreaking. Try trailer park.

[marty60]

You need to get past the hatred you feel for the Mother and focus on the children.

[EEDUDE]

"Then you need to be in court. Do you have shared custody?"

You're joking, right?

[Orangedog]

...recognized Cox for focusing attention on the $7 billion owed to Michigan children in unpaid child support.

Roger, why is MND repeating this lie? Not one penny of that money ever has or ever will belong to "the children."

[marty60]

Absolutely not. If you feel as strongly about the children as you do about the money then I say do it.

[FierceDraka]

So your ex is one those vanguards of virtue, too? My kids have to come to my house to get a decent meal and some attention. Sickening...

Sounds like the situation my brother was in. His 2 daughters were living with their mom (a big, fat, lazy money-grubber - an I am not exaggerating) in a seedy part of town.

When they came to my brother's house for weekend visitation, he would have nice clothes for them to wear while they were with him. The ones their mother bought them were shabby and trashy, even though my bro was paying around 2 grand a month in support.

But this story has a happy ending. My brother managed to get custody of the girls, but he basically had to out-spend what she was willing to spend in legal fees.

Yet another victory for my clan over those who think they can do evil to us and get away with it!

Oh, and incidentally, my ex-sister-in-law does not have to pay one little dime of support to my brother for their upkeep. Figures.

[Orangedog]

Absolutely not. If you feel as strongly about the children as you do about the money then I say do it.

Thousands of us do that every year and 90% of the time the court tells us to go pound sand. Of course this is after spending several thousand dollars on lawyers. And a good chunk of the time the judge will raise the "child" support just for spite while he/she is at it. Dads in those courts are treated worse than blacks were in the south during the 1950's.

[jimt]

You need to get past the hatred you feel for the Mother and focus on the children.

Of course.

Unfortunately, the current scam system of penalizing the father to the benefit of the mother works in exactly the opposite direction.

It's extremely hurtful, evil and wrong.

[EEDUDE]

Exactly.

But let's cut Marty60 some slack.

I believe that she really doesn't know what is going on in the "Family" Courts these days.

I am frankly scared to go back to court to try to get my child support reduced, even though I don't make nearly as much money as her ex did.($100,000)

Besides that, I can't afford to pay another attorney.

[FierceDraka]

I am frankly scared to go back to court to try to get my child support reduced, even though I don't make nearly as much money as her ex did.($100,000)

I thought about trying to get it reduced, but hey, I've made it this far, and I've only got 18 months before the payments get cut in half. And 2 years after that, my money is finally MINE.

Nothing lasts forever, not even child support.

[RogerFGay]

Actually the 7 billion figure is very much in doubt on its own, no matter who it's "owed" to. I flagged the article shortly after it appeared, and had some edits made. You need to click on the links to get the full effect of fair and balanced reporting. If the idea that 7 billion is owed doesn't have quotes around it, it should.

[RogerFGay]

I can tell you really aren't familiar with the child support issue. Fathers in the US have always had the highest rate of payment of child support in the world, simply because economic conditions in the US have allowed it. The primary reason some fathers are behind in payments or don't pay is because they are not able to pay as much as they've been ordered to pay -- not because they don't care about their children or are genetically irresponsible.

The reason we have a federal child support enforcement program that is strongly supported by all state governments, is because it provides more than 4 billion dollars in annual funding. It's your tax money, and all the people who are sucking it down without giving anything back are sayin' --- thank sucker!

[cherry]

"God will punish this country soon..."

since you know God so well, tell me, what will God do to men ( or women!) that abandon their marriage vows and their children?....hmmmmm?

[RogerFGay]

The system is set up in such a way that it's a huge money machine for all the bottom-feeders who populate the CS/Divorce industry. Judges, lawyers, CSEA hacks get kick-backs from the State/Fed gov for each dollar of support they collect.

It's not "about the children". Never has been, never will be.

exactly

[cherry]

"They are also taught that men are the evil enemy."

so, what's your point?...................(joking!)

[RogerFGay]

Then you need to be in court. Do you have shared custody? You should. Especially if you are a resposible Father paying THAT kind of CS.

It's good you're getting educated. But no -- going to court won't help. CS is arbitrarily high because that increases the amount of federal funding states receive. Shared custody would result in a reduction in the CS order (along with more time between children and their fathers). It would reduce the cost of the child support program -- i.e. funding states receive -- therefore it ain't happenin'

BTW: I've been living in Sweden for more than 10 years. All of Scandinavia is a presumptive joint custody zone. Not even the objections of one parent stops the law from maintaining shared parenting arrangements.

[cherry]

"HOW DO YOU ANSWER THEM?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

. the question is not now much the mom makes, but how much YOU make....because if the kids have known a certain lifestyle, between your two incomes, then shouldn't they continue with that?

I know some men get the shaft...I know some women are lazy clods....all I have to say is that if we would work from day one in making marriages and children a sacred thing, to be nourished and kept in the highest reguard, then the child support arguement would be moot.....

trouble is, people take marriage and children in a very light way....

[RogerFGay]

Unless you are designated "custodial parent", the state has indeed taken custody of your children from you. And you pay them for the privilege.

Laws have changed dramatically so that designation of parent or parents is now completely arbitrary. Men are forced to take on the legal responsibilities of fatherhood everyday for children that are not theirs. The law is not attuned to homosexual couples. If they're married, they're like actual mothers and fathers legally, no matter what sex they are or where the children came from.

[cherry]

"The tempting thing is to shoot the mother"

that actually happens many times, where the good daddy is so good that he just kills mommy and the kids, just so his little ego can feel like a big man...

how telling of you that you suggest shooting someone....