Editor, Times-Union: This is in response to Mr. North’s letter regarding him being incarcerated due to failure to pay child support.
Mr. North, as you sulk because you are finally being made to suffer after making your child suffer as well as the custodial parent suffer because you chose not to own up to your responsibility as a parent, I sit here and wonder how many court dates there were before you landed in your current situation. Did you job hop? Work under the table? Or any of the other various way many noncustodial parent use to not pay support thinking they can get away with it?
In many cases noncustodial parents do this for years and amount a rather large sum of back support before they reach your current situation. While noncustodial parents are living it up and thinking they getting away with something, the child is the one who suffers. Some cases the child is lucky and the mother makes enough at one job or there are other supportive relatives that step in and help take up the slack caused by the noncustodial parent’s lack of taking responsibility. In other cases, the custodial parent is working two jobs and the child is spending more time at a babysitter’s house then with either parent because someone has to pay the bills.
So maybe it is time you own up to your actions plan on how you are going to get a job and get to your job so that you can finally own up to your responsibilities and stop blaming the system for punishing you for being irresponsible.
Oh, just a thought, have you ever heard of people going to jail for bouncing checks? That is a debt that is owed to someone for their failure to pay. They are jailed.
