Really, nothing surprises me anymore about the collective insanity that has engulfed the political and law-enforcement class in the USA. But just when I had decided that it doesn't get any more ridiculous, we now have the triumphant return of Debtor's Prison.
http://rt.com/usa/165456-jailed-truancy-fine-dead-cell/
When it comes to Money, the nation that was founded by Money and for Money will not brook any refusal to cough up cash to the State, immediately if not sooner.
I post these little ditties about life in America more in sorrow than in anger.
Debtors prison has become a way of life for the fathers in divorce cases.
ReplyDeleteThe courts pile on debt based upon an imputed income - a completely imaginary calculation of what a person "should" earn, assigning alimony and child support based upon that number.
Then, when the father can't make those payments, he is jailed for contempt of court.
Typically fathers just get screwed. They get kicked out of their house, but must keep paying the mortgage. They must also pay the mother alimony and child support. These take the lion's share of his income, but he is still expected to provide an additional home for himself so that he may remain gainfully employed.
With the criminal, financial, legal, and other trauma created in the divorce process, many fathers find themselves unemployed, and occasionally unemployable in their former occupations (bankruptcies, and convictions for alleged child abuse or domestic violence do not help one's prospects - all of which are natural parts of today's divorce environment.). The courts, however, do not take any of this into consideration. They just "impute" away.
Other problems on the horizon include non-dismissible student loans and taxable "income" imputed to have been received by those who have some portion of their mortgage debt forgiven in a shortsale or other action. These folks no longer have a house, equity, or money, but the IRS says they made income in the amount of the bad debt and owe taxes on it.
Paul
Thank you, Paul, for that sobering overview of the situation.
ReplyDeleteSorry,
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean to slip into a rant, but debtor's prison is gonna make a big come-back.
A certain segment of society wants "their" money, and they will get it, one way or another.
Over 70 percent of the Nat'l Debt is interest payments. Productivity has increased by 170% since the late eighties, but this has not translated into people's paychecks.
It would not surprise me to see work camps created to ensure that people are paying their debts to society. I think a good argument could be made that that is exactly what is going on in China now, for example.
Heck, many of our current prisons are privately owned, for-profit enterprises.
This is just gonna get worse.
Paul