Dead-Beat Parents

I read an article today about the extremes some authorities go to to ensure parents are paying their child support. In Australia, there isn't much a parent can do if their ex doesn't do the right thing by their children - you just have to wear it, and the Child Support Agency will follow through to a point, but if your ex is in a commission paying job, self-employed or getting cash money, they can't chase them for anything. And can I say, most parents who want to not provide for their children, get themselves jobs that enable them to breeze through with minimum or no payments at all.

But in the US, they put in amnesties of which parents who have neglected their responsibilities to their children by not paying child support trying to get them to come clean. Over the past week, the State of New Mexico put in an amnesty, of which 84 parents put their hand up saying they owed money to their ex-spouses/partners for child support, totalling $415,000. A great collection for a week's work. However, those who have not come forward will be arrested and are expected to serve jail time for not contributing to the welfare of their children and putting added strain on government resources. They will be then imposed a payment plan for the money owed, and if they break it again, there will be additional jail time.

But is it a 'catch-22?' Is the money that is owed to their children in child support commensurate with how much it's going to cost the government to give them a jail cell for a number of days/weeks/months?  How will the offending parent be able to manage their re-payments if they are in jail and not in the paid work force?

Look, I completely agree that these parents who don't support their children should be punished, and jail time is possibly the most invasive punishment there can be. They will have a criminal record, they could lose their job, depending on how long they are put away for, it could put an even further strain on the relationship they have with their kids. And if they can't learn from these lessons, of how much impact their refusal to pay child support is on their entire being, then what else can the government enforce? Should they publicly name and shame these dead-beat parents? I think so... because they forget that the only ones they are hurting are their innocent children, the people they brought into this world... some with love, some with lust, but they brought them into this world and need to bare the consequences and man up to their responsibilities.