From: jsw@cray.com (Jon S. Wood)
Subject: Re: do 90% men pay the bills?
Reply-To: jsw@cray.com
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 4 Jan 93 00:16:34 CST

In article 1i7thaINN7ik@gap.caltech.edu, peri@cco.caltech.edu (Michal Leah Peri) writes:
>Quoting from the Economist, 12/26/92, p.39:
>
>"    Divorce also affects living standards.  Men may actually see their
>disposable incomes rise, especially if they pay little or no child support.
>Official American figures for 1989 found that 41% of all divorced and
>seperated women living with children under 21 received nothing from their
>former husbands; the rest received on average just over $3000 a year.
>    The predictable upshot is that women and children are poorer.  A study
>of American families who have been interviewed each year since 1968 finds 
>that separated and divorced women suffer an average fall of about 30% in
>their incomes in the year after their marriage breaks up.  The worst hurt
>are middle-class wives who have stayed at home.  But 31% of all wives 
>whose incomes were above average when they were married found that their
>living standards fell by more than half in the first year after their 
>marriages collapsed."
>-- 
>
>                                                --  Michal
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Of course there's no reason!  


 What da hell? You mean if the spouse moves out the household income
drops? Michal, how could that be? I thought men didn't contribute to
the family while they were married, how could there be a drop in 
income after the guy leaves? 
 Then again, maybe he did contribute? You mean he left and took a
part of his paycheck? Why, let's crack down. How dare he leave and
take one lousy dime of his income?

 All those in favor of labor camps please stand up! Hillary, sit down.
we already know where YOU stand!!!

 Truth be known, income drops dramatically when a man is asked to leave.
It also must improve when one moves in, right? 

 National Inquirer....

  MAN LOST LEGS, CAN"T WALK

  WOMEN ASKS FOR DIVORCE, NOW BROKE!


So, what the hell does your 'story' tell me? 

Nothin'.


 The story from the Economist is missing mucho information. I don't 
buy the bullshit. What is missing from your quote is the organization
that put that bullshit on the wire service. Newspapers are filled
with ubsustantiated stories. Your article sheds nothing new or
informative. 

 When I became divorced I payed 37% of my after tax income. I pay federal,
state taxes and social security. I also pay family coverage benefits in
health insurance. Subtract the taxes, s.s., and health; multiply the 
balance by .35. That WAS my obligation on divorce day. Should the
courts have considered the 195.00 per month car payment deducted from
my check for HER car? Did they? Of course not. 
 Am I obligated financially to make the house payment? Only if I want
a clean financial record. Did I have any control over such payments? No.
Just an obligation. Is that payment, in addition to her car payment and
child support used against me when seeking rent? Why of course, honey!
Hell, I wondered if I was eligible to rent a movie. 
 When I asked the court to consider my offer to place a rental property
sale of ours to be placed in trust to the children's college tuition,
did the courts consider this generosity? Of course not! 
 If she remarries and moves to an even more financially burdensome home,
can I question the validity of my child support's purpose? Of course
not!