The Chronicle has an interesting little story on low-income and no-income fathers and child support today (Father grows up / From deadbeat dads to role models — program has 100 grads) focusing on a soon-to-be-eliminated Richmond program that’s been successful at collecting child support. One of the model cases is Gerald Slaughter, a dad who earns nearly $35,000 and turns a healthy chunk over to mom each month:
Slaughter now pays nearly $1,000 a month for both children, with the payments taken directly from his paycheck. In addition, he has joint custody of his youngest daughter and helps care for her and her sister part of the week.
Let’s do the math: Slaughter gets no EITC or dependent exemptions, so his take-home pay is around $2500 per month. He has the same child-related expenses as mom, as both children spend significant time with him – one half time, the other nearly half-time. Nonetheless. 40% of his income goes to mom, and not to direct spending on the kids.
Now, class, tell us who’s the deadbeat in this picture?