The online newspaper article that threw me for a loop and sparked a big debate among my peers and I - was the maintenance support fund orchestrated by our own Prime Minister.
(hence the reason I broke this article into two parts. For in order to deal with this issue, I had to share my outlook of what people seem to think about child support in the first place)
Now our PM wants to give $50 a week to the mothers that are not receiving their monetary support due to delinquency of fathers.
OK - here we go.
What I can't understand is this - if maintenance court is supposed to be the solution to delinquent fathers, how do you provide a solution to a solution? The court payment terms was the way to make fathers face the fact that their children need to be financially provided for by both parents regardless of the social situation of those parents.
A man may not give two middle fingers about being involved in the life of a child, but the financial contribution still amounts to some form of care.
The down right negligent men that didn't even care enough to provide even if requested by law, were summoned before a magistrate and if found to be willfully neglecting to pay for a child that was indeed their own were offered a ride to The Dodds Hotel.
So, let me get this right. It is now unacceptable to ask strong able bodied working men do the morally right thing? Arresting a man for his own money is now wrong and degrading, so now he can come up with any number of lies why he can't/won't pay the court because the Hon. Freundel Stuart is now making taxpayers contribute to the welfare of a child they did not conceive or give birth to?
Is this a burden that this country can really afford to handle at a time of such economic challenge?
There is already welfare and school uniform funds and all manner of other government grants. How much responsibility can the government handle? The government being the citizens whose money is wafting into these projects.
Women have already began to complain that $50 is not enough to do squat for their kids. Really? You go from having nothing to something, and still you complain?
Maybe $50 isn't enough for you to support your ten kids! If you see yourself struggling with one or two why go get a cricket team and expect the government should help you? Are they Freundel's kids?
Maybe $50 isn't enough for you to get your hair done, because some of you women are working and are able to make a comfortable living, but rather than put the money for your son or daughter into a bank account or University fund, you are using it for your own selfish intentions.
SO if the cost of living goes up again next year, will the child support fund increase? Will the children whose fathers DON'T pay end up with more money than the children with fathers that DO pay?
If the mothers that are to receive the $50 were asked to bring with them an unemployment statement or their minimum wage pay slip to prove they need the help,would they? If they were asked to collect the $50 in a food voucher for Trimart, would they still want it?
The backlash from this idea, rather than to crack down on this male delinquency, was to start a fund for the fathers too. I support this whole heartedly, as I think both men and women should be entitled to the same laws but I think the entire concept is a play for political votes and needs to be tossed out the window. The thing with these kinds of ideas, is that both good and bad benefit, and there is no way to separate the two.
Share your thoughts!
Bisous!!xoxo
Ps. You can also share your comments on the people's forum on facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/the-nation-barbados/the-peoples-forum-50-maintenance/10151276433004493
The culture of Mendicancy will prevail for generations. So sending men to prison hasn't resulted in the desired effect, so the next best solution is to give more of the taxpayer's money out like there's no tomorrow. I'm all for helping people, but we should be doing more to teach people to be independent and take care of themselves and their children with solid life skills and proper decision making. There are countless programs in technical & vocational training, adult education classes in CSEC and CAPE that would empower the lives of those who choose to accept the challenge.
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