[KlassWar]

I disagree Eran, but I'll reiterate my opinion as succinctly as possible. If the act of procreative sex is consensual then both sides, in my opinion, ought to be legally responsible for the child's welfare (up to the age of adulthood)

Family values bullshit. The community at large is responsible for the welfare of all the children in their midst. Takes a tribe to raise a kid and all that.

[Joe Liberty]

Family values bullshit. The community at large is responsible for the welfare of all the children in their midst. Takes a tribe to raise a kid and all that.

Wish I had known that when my kids were little, I would've stopped working so hard and let the neighbors take care of them for me.

[iakobos]

I believe divorced parents ought to pay for the support of their children living with their ex-spouse. I'm still on the fence about whether the law should legally enforce child support. One thing that ought to change is the way the amount of child support is calculated. It ought to be based on present income rather than income at the time of the divorce. I've seen too many men who's income plummeted, as a result of the divorce, and are then criminally burdened with child support payments their current income couldn't possibly justify.

[Rich]

Family values bullshit. The community at large is responsible for the welfare of all the children in their midst. Takes a tribe to raise a kid and all that.

You're just the mirror image of the Libertarians. Trying to argue that everything should be the responsibly of the collective is nearly as mistaken as arguing everything should be the responsibility of the individual. We need both and we need the collective action to enforce individual responsibility and individual initiative to enforce collective responsibility. There was an extremely high level of collectivism in primitive bands and some pre modern village life. However there was a high level of kinship within such groups and a murderous xenophobic attitude towards outsiders that made the Nazis look like bleeding heart Liberals.

[Eran]

I believe divorced parents ought to pay for the support of their children living with their ex-spouse. I'm still on the fence about whether the law should legally enforce child support.

The solution is very simple. Make marriage contractual (as it used to be). By marrying, a person enters into a legal agreement with stipulations regarding both the responsibilities of the parties during the marriage and the (mostly financial) consequences of divorce.

With that in place, enforcing child support becomes equivalent to enforcing any other contractual obligations.