Popular in Professional

Human Rights Law

Human Rights and Corruption: Problems and Potential of Individualising a Systemic Problem

Max Planck Institute Anne Peters

Law

A statistical approach to law school citation rankings

University of Virginia Joshua Fischman

Education

High school change

Boston College Andrew Hargreaves

Constitutional Law

What is constitutional ideology?

University of Oxford Nick Barber

Civil Procedure Law

Politics, Identity, and Class Certification on the U.S. Courts of Appeals

University of Pennsylvania Sean Farhang

Culture and Society

The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place

New York University Harvey Moltoch

Education

The Role of Education in Reducing Racial Inequality

University of Southern California Pedro A. Noguera

Debt Governance, Wealth Management, and the Uneven Burdens of Child Support

View more insights in Professional - Law - Socio-legal Studies

View more figures from University of Richmond

View the page of Allison Tait

Read the Study

Next in Law

Human Rights and Corruption: Problems and Potential of Individualising a Systemic Problem

Anne Peters | Max Planck Institute

Court-Packing in Context

Barry Cushman | University of Notre Dame

How does the governance of child support amplify economic disparities and enforce racial and gender inequalities in the United States, reflecting broader societal divides in debt and wealth management?

Image courtesy of interviewee. November 22, 2024

Log-in or Sign-up to Faculti
Currently viewing this subject insight as a guest. You have insight(s) remaining for this month. Login to view 8000+ figures on the platform.

Generating Workspace...

Export as PDF

This video discusses a book project by the speaker focused on wealth and inequality, examining both intra-family and inter-family disparities. The speaker has previously studied high-wealth families and their exceptional privileges in managing wealth, particularly in relation to child support obligations. The project seeks to compare high wealth families with lower-income counterparts, exploring mechanisms of child support regulation and how wealth can shield individuals from financial responsibilities.

The speaker highlights examples, such as the case of Cleopatra Cameron—a beneficiary of a trust whose child support obligations were evaded due to favorable legal frameworks for the wealthy, contrasting sharply with the punitive measures faced by low-income parents, especially non-white men. The discussion underscores a racial and economic divide in how child support is enforced, revealing systemic biases that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

The speaker critiques the cultural narrative surrounding "deadbeat dads," which oversimplifies the issue of child support by framing it in moralistic terms. Through this lens, they advocate for a more nuanced understanding of who can pay child support and the various socio-economic barriers that prevent payment. The project aims to reframe discussions about wealth management and child support, calling for policies that truly support families in need rather than perpetuate systemic inequalities.

Language:

Export as PDF

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:90000

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.900
Context of the work.

2
00:00:00.900 --> 00:00:03.605
This is actually part of a book project that I'm working on.

3
00:00:03.825 --> 00:00:07.005
Um, and it taps into all of my previous work,

4
00:00:07.005 --> 00:00:08.885
which has really been about wealth and equality.

5
00:00:09.465 --> 00:00:10.685
Um, and I've written about wealth

6
00:00:10.685 --> 00:00:12.165
inequality within families.

7
00:00:12.385 --> 00:00:13.485
So that's a lot of kind

8
00:00:13.485 --> 00:00:15.765
of looking at the way gender works in families

9
00:00:15.785 --> 00:00:17.605
and who holds the money in the family.

10
00:00:18.305 --> 00:00:22.125
Um, but I've also looked at inequality between families, so,

11
00:00:22.185 --> 00:00:25.285
you know, high wealth families, low income families.

12
00:00:25.465 --> 00:00:27.725
Um, and what I've really looked at mostly

13
00:00:28.285 --> 00:00:29.885
previously has been high wealth families.

14
00:00:29.885 --> 00:00:31.725
And I've looked at sort of like elite families,

15
00:00:31.785 --> 00:00:32.925
you know, families with a lot of money.

16
00:00:33.425 --> 00:00:35.045
And I've worked on what I've called

17
00:00:35.075 --> 00:00:36.165
high wealth exceptionalism.

18
00:00:37.105 --> 00:00:39.165
So it's really been the study of sort

19
00:00:39.165 --> 00:00:41.805
of ultra rich families, how they manage wealth,

20
00:00:41.865 --> 00:00:42.965
how they manage their money,

21
00:00:43.505 --> 00:00:45.885
and how the rules that we have around wealth

22
00:00:46.065 --> 00:00:47.805
and wealth management, these rules,

23
00:00:47.945 --> 00:00:49.565
how they really give them exceptionally

24
00:00:49.915 --> 00:00:51.805
extremely privileged treatment.

25
00:00:52.065 --> 00:00:53.565
Um, and right kind of,

26
00:00:53.645 --> 00:00:55.085
I guess no one's probably surprised at that,

27
00:00:55.105 --> 00:00:57.765
but I think the scope of, you know, scope

28
00:00:57.765 --> 00:00:59.245
of the privileges they receive

29
00:00:59.545 --> 00:01:01.885
and the depth of how, you know,

30
00:01:01.885 --> 00:01:04.445
how privileged they are really is not always

31
00:01:04.445 --> 00:01:05.525
something that people know.

32
00:01:05.665 --> 00:01:07.765
So that's something that I've been interested in.

33
00:01:07.785 --> 00:01:10.765
And, you know, I know that extreme wealth is only one part

34
00:01:10.785 --> 00:01:13.005
of the inequality puzzle,

35
00:01:13.145 --> 00:01:16.205
but I do think it's important to look at inequality from

36
00:01:16.205 --> 00:01:17.885
above, so to speak.

37
00:01:18.465 --> 00:01:20.845
Um, but this project has come into being,

38
00:01:20.845 --> 00:01:22.965
when I started looking at high wealth families in

39
00:01:22.965 --> 00:01:25.525
conjunction with their lower income counterparts,

40
00:01:26.795 --> 00:01:29.455
so putting together the two ends of this wealth spectrum.

41
00:01:29.595 --> 00:01:31.375
So I'll just tell you this little like, anecdote kind of

42
00:01:31.375 --> 00:01:33.335
how I got to the child support piece.

43
00:01:33.335 --> 00:01:34.855
And it's interesting because, so, you know,

44
00:01:34.855 --> 00:01:36.895
I was looking at the, you know, again, polar ends

45
00:01:36.895 --> 00:01:39.335
of the wealth spectrum and, you know, I think a lot

46
00:01:39.335 --> 00:01:40.815
of people would think it's very predictable.

47
00:01:40.815 --> 00:01:42.535
Like there's different treatments,

48
00:01:42.875 --> 00:01:44.935
and we'll talk about exactly how different it is.

49
00:01:45.195 --> 00:01:47.375
Um, but I'm also been interested in how the,

50
00:01:47.395 --> 00:01:49.495
how they're similar and the sort of what I call this sort

51
00:01:49.495 --> 00:01:51.055
of distorted reflectivity.

52
00:01:51.715 --> 00:01:54.615
Uh, and so these are like the, you know, like the lists

53
00:01:54.615 --> 00:01:56.855
or the memes you see, like something that's like, you know,

54
00:01:56.855 --> 00:01:58.855
quote unquote classy if you're rich

55
00:01:58.855 --> 00:02:01.255
and quote unquote trashy if you're poor, right?

56
00:02:01.795 --> 00:02:02.975
Uh, so like day drinking

57
00:02:03.195 --> 00:02:05.735
or police escorts, having a,

58
00:02:05.875 --> 00:02:07.335
having a lawyer on speed dial.

59
00:02:07.635 --> 00:02:08.975
Um, and one of the things

60
00:02:08.975 --> 00:02:10.215
that's always on the list is getting

61
00:02:10.215 --> 00:02:11.375
money from the government.

62
00:02:12.075 --> 00:02:13.895
And something else that I saw on a number

63
00:02:13.895 --> 00:02:15.935
of these lists was not paying child support.

64
00:02:16.715 --> 00:02:19.015
And so I started looking into child support

65
00:02:19.015 --> 00:02:22.295
and I, I, study both family law and inheritance law.

66
00:02:22.315 --> 00:02:24.815
So, it's of interest to me as a family law scholar.

67
00:02:25.095 --> 00:02:26.775
I started looking exactly the, you know, sort

68
00:02:26.775 --> 00:02:31.615
of the different mechanisms used to regulate child support

69
00:02:31.635 --> 00:02:33.695
for low income families and high wealth families.

70
00:02:33.695 --> 00:02:35.135
And I knew a little bit about, you know, sort

71
00:02:35.135 --> 00:02:37.855
of the high wealth families and what happens there.

72
00:02:38.355 --> 00:02:40.455
And what really it's a story of in

73
00:02:40.455 --> 00:02:42.975
that context is high wealth trusts,

74
00:02:43.035 --> 00:02:44.215
an asset protection trust.

75
00:02:44.275 --> 00:02:48.095
And you know, it's a study in wealth preservation vehicles

76
00:02:48.095 --> 00:02:50.415
doing exactly what they're supposed to do,

77
00:02:50.415 --> 00:02:52.135
because what, somebody with a lot

78
00:02:52.135 --> 00:02:54.455
of money can do is put, money in

79
00:02:54.455 --> 00:02:56.415
or have, you know, their parents put money in trust

80
00:02:56.555 --> 00:03:00.285
and then that money can become unavailable to child support.

81
00:03:00.745 --> 00:03:02.925
Uh, well, children with child support orders.

82
00:03:03.065 --> 00:03:05.165
It was one of those cases sort of like testing these,

83
00:03:05.165 --> 00:03:07.765
these trusts and these, these new sort

84
00:03:07.765 --> 00:03:09.445
of tax haven states in the US

85
00:03:09.625 --> 00:03:10.885
and people were kinda curious,

86
00:03:11.025 --> 00:03:12.245
you know, is it gonna work or not?

87
00:03:12.625 --> 00:03:15.045
Um, so there was a woman whose name was Cleopat Cameron,

88
00:03:15.505 --> 00:03:19.205
and she was the, granddaughter of a wealthy oil man,

89
00:03:19.385 --> 00:03:21.125
and she was the beneficiary of a trust

90
00:03:21.125 --> 00:03:22.765
that her father had created for her.

91
00:03:23.465 --> 00:03:27.285
And so she was receiving about $40,000 a month at the time

92
00:03:27.285 --> 00:03:28.885
of her divorce, and she was ordered

93
00:03:28.985 --> 00:03:31.725
to pay about $10,000 a month in child

94
00:03:31.725 --> 00:03:33.045
support, and she did not have custody.

95
00:03:34.065 --> 00:03:36.845
Um, and what the trial court did was they told the, the,

96
00:03:36.905 --> 00:03:39.325
the, the bank that held the trust, they said, you have

97
00:03:39.325 --> 00:03:41.325
to pay the child support payments directly to the,

98
00:03:41.385 --> 00:03:42.445
to the, to the father.

99
00:03:42.545 --> 00:03:44.285
So right around that time, she took a little trip

100
00:03:44.305 --> 00:03:45.485
and she went to South Dakota

101
00:03:45.785 --> 00:03:48.725
and she decided to move her trust to South Dakota.

102
00:03:48.905 --> 00:03:50.965
And then she asked the South Dakota she court, she said,

103
00:03:50.965 --> 00:03:53.645
you know, does my trust have to make these payments?

104
00:03:53.665 --> 00:03:55.925
And the trust said, absolutely not.

105
00:03:56.465 --> 00:03:58.325
You know, no way, no how,

106
00:03:58.325 --> 00:04:00.405
and the trust did exactly what it was supposed to do

107
00:04:00.945 --> 00:04:02.885
by shielding those assets in the trust

108
00:04:02.985 --> 00:04:04.965
and making them unavailable for child support.

109
00:04:05.025 --> 00:04:06.365
If you look at the high wealth world

110
00:04:06.365 --> 00:04:08.085
and high wealth payers, it's sort of,

111
00:04:08.415 --> 00:04:09.965
blindingly white, right?

112
00:04:09.965 --> 00:04:13.125
Most of the people in that population, are white.

113
00:04:13.705 --> 00:04:15.605
Uh, cleopat hammer is actually interesting

114
00:04:15.605 --> 00:04:18.685
because it's, it's unusual that, well, it's more unusual

115
00:04:18.755 --> 00:04:20.965
that, a woman is actually paying child support.

116
00:04:20.965 --> 00:04:22.605
Usually men are paying child support

117
00:04:22.605 --> 00:04:24.005
because they're not the custodial parent.

118
00:04:24.065 --> 00:04:25.725
So that's kind of interesting.

119
00:04:26.025 --> 00:04:29.285
But if we look at the low income side of the spectrum,

120
00:04:29.585 --> 00:04:32.125
you know, child support debts are rampant

121
00:04:32.185 --> 00:04:33.885
and the disproportionately fall,

122
00:04:33.905 --> 00:04:36.085
the burden falls on non-white

123
00:04:36.085 --> 00:04:39.045
and particularly black men, who are payers.

124
00:04:39.265 --> 00:04:40.605
Um, and I just,

125
00:04:40.605 --> 00:04:42.845
I have some few little studies I just pulled out,

126
00:04:42.905 --> 00:04:45.045
and, you know, they're not surprising, right?

127
00:04:45.065 --> 00:04:47.165
The low and no income parents are responsible

128
00:04:47.165 --> 00:04:49.205
for the greatest portion of child support.

129
00:04:49.205 --> 00:04:52.725
70% of arrears are owed by, people

130
00:04:53.105 --> 00:04:56.045
who either had no reported income or between $1

131
00:04:56.145 --> 00:04:58.765
and $10,000 of reported income annually.

132
00:04:59.425 --> 00:05:02.765
Um, and black fathers are particular overrepresented

133
00:05:02.785 --> 00:05:04.765
for a lot of reasons, including sort

134
00:05:04.765 --> 00:05:06.365
of mass incarceration, right?

135
00:05:06.415 --> 00:05:09.645
Labor market discrimination, like all of the problems

136
00:05:09.645 --> 00:05:11.525
and obstacles that they face to both earning

137
00:05:11.665 --> 00:05:14.445
and sort of existing in society without being incarcerated.

138
00:05:15.025 --> 00:05:17.445
Um, and so that you have a burden, again,

139
00:05:17.445 --> 00:05:20.125
that's falling on not only low income communities,

140
00:05:20.125 --> 00:05:22.485
but it's falling in racialized patterns

141
00:05:22.485 --> 00:05:24.605
that are really harming, again, black

142
00:05:24.625 --> 00:05:27.085
and also more generally, non-white,

143
00:05:27.465 --> 00:05:28.965
and men, generally, the way

144
00:05:28.965 --> 00:05:32.085
that an asset protection trust works is that, you have

145
00:05:32.085 --> 00:05:34.125
to draft it properly and you have discretionary,

146
00:05:34.385 --> 00:05:35.565
terms and all of that.

147
00:05:35.585 --> 00:05:37.845
But with a properly drafted trust, it sort

148
00:05:37.845 --> 00:05:41.325
of helps at two points during the child support,

149
00:05:41.325 --> 00:05:42.605
process or lifetime.

150
00:05:43.025 --> 00:05:45.245
Uh, one is when you're actually just trying to come up with

151
00:05:45.245 --> 00:05:47.765
what the award is, which is what courts do, right?

152
00:05:47.765 --> 00:05:49.685
Like, how much are you gonna owe in child support?

153
00:05:50.145 --> 00:05:51.725
Um, and it's interesting, this is one

154
00:05:51.725 --> 00:05:54.205
of those interesting things in terms of, you know,

155
00:05:54.205 --> 00:05:55.605
how it happens with the high wealth

156
00:05:55.605 --> 00:05:56.765
and the low income people.

157
00:05:57.025 --> 00:06:00.005
So, courts can, if they choose to,

158
00:06:00.005 --> 00:06:02.085
do something which is called imputing income,

159
00:06:02.715 --> 00:06:04.085
like they will impute income to you.

160
00:06:04.085 --> 00:06:06.445
So for low income parents, if you're not working

161
00:06:07.065 --> 00:06:08.725
and you're, if you're what, you know,

162
00:06:09.145 --> 00:06:10.845
courts call voluntarily under

163
00:06:10.865 --> 00:06:12.725
or unemployed, they'll impute income to you.

164
00:06:12.725 --> 00:06:14.885
They'll say like, here's what you should be making again,

165
00:06:15.345 --> 00:06:17.845
you know, sort of like magical thinking, like the best

166
00:06:17.845 --> 00:06:19.605
of all possible worlds, again,

167
00:06:19.605 --> 00:06:21.885
without labor market discrimination, without, you know,

168
00:06:21.905 --> 00:06:23.725
bad economy, whatever, you should be making this.

169
00:06:23.725 --> 00:06:26.045
And they will award child support based on

170
00:06:26.045 --> 00:06:27.045
what they think you should be making.

171
00:06:27.825 --> 00:06:29.245
Um, it's interesting then when you get

172
00:06:29.245 --> 00:06:31.085
to the high wealth end of things.

173
00:06:31.545 --> 00:06:34.005
Um, so if you have money in a trust like this,

174
00:06:34.105 --> 00:06:36.005
you have no present interest in it.

175
00:06:36.005 --> 00:06:38.125
So you don't actually have like a present property, right,

176
00:06:38.145 --> 00:06:39.485
in the, in the assets.

177
00:06:40.025 --> 00:06:43.445
And so when the court is looking at calculating

178
00:06:43.465 --> 00:06:44.965
how much child support you're gonna

179
00:06:44.985 --> 00:06:46.285
pay, they don't look at that.

180
00:06:46.285 --> 00:06:47.365
They don't necessarily look at that.

181
00:06:47.365 --> 00:06:48.645
It doesn't come into your income

182
00:06:48.645 --> 00:06:49.965
because it's not part of your income.

183
00:06:50.385 --> 00:06:52.685
So you have a different kind of magical thinking, right?

184
00:06:52.765 --> 00:06:54.285
On the one hand is magical thinking,

185
00:06:54.515 --> 00:06:56.045
whereas you don't have money,

186
00:06:56.065 --> 00:06:57.925
but the court's gonna say you do, right?

187
00:06:58.105 --> 00:06:59.885
And on the other hand, you do have money,

188
00:06:59.905 --> 00:07:01.365
but the court's gonna say you don't.

189
00:07:01.365 --> 00:07:03.245
So it's kind of, you know,

190
00:07:03.245 --> 00:07:04.445
and that's just at the very beginning.

191
00:07:05.065 --> 00:07:06.965
The other part is when it comes to recovering.

192
00:07:07.105 --> 00:07:09.485
So you know, when the child, is owed money,

193
00:07:09.595 --> 00:07:11.965
when child support arrears are due,

194
00:07:11.965 --> 00:07:14.805
it looks a lot different for people with trusts from people

195
00:07:15.025 --> 00:07:16.285
who have low income.

196
00:07:16.305 --> 00:07:19.485
And particularly it looks a lot different for,

197
00:07:19.485 --> 00:07:22.005
those families who are receiving state benefits

198
00:07:22.005 --> 00:07:24.605
because those are, that's when the government really starts

199
00:07:24.605 --> 00:07:27.845
to pursue aggressively arrears, but it gets to recovery.

200
00:07:28.145 --> 00:07:30.605
Uh, you can just take that story I told you about Cleopatra

201
00:07:30.605 --> 00:07:32.125
Cameron, you know, she moved her trust

202
00:07:32.465 --> 00:07:35.885
and the, you know, the state court said, nope, you know,

203
00:07:35.885 --> 00:07:37.685
trust doesn't have to make any direct payments.

204
00:07:38.225 --> 00:07:39.965
And it's important to note that the, you know,

205
00:07:39.965 --> 00:07:41.005
the debt doesn't go away.

206
00:07:41.145 --> 00:07:42.725
The debt still exists in the world.

207
00:07:42.825 --> 00:07:44.925
So she's still, you know, technically

208
00:07:44.945 --> 00:07:46.565
and legally obliged to pay it,

209
00:07:46.945 --> 00:07:48.365
but it does not have to come from

210
00:07:48.365 --> 00:07:49.885
that trust fund from those sources.

211
00:07:50.225 --> 00:07:53.485
And then the burden of seeking, you know, enforcement

212
00:07:53.485 --> 00:07:56.725
and the burden of seeking her payment lies on her

213
00:07:56.725 --> 00:07:57.845
husband in this case, right?

214
00:07:57.845 --> 00:07:59.085
The person who's seeking the money.

215
00:07:59.425 --> 00:08:00.765
And there's really no automatic

216
00:08:00.765 --> 00:08:02.085
triggers for government action.

217
00:08:02.155 --> 00:08:04.205
It's just up to this man to decide whether he wants

218
00:08:04.205 --> 00:08:06.725
to pursue the debt, whether he wants

219
00:08:06.885 --> 00:08:08.045
to take the time, right?

220
00:08:08.115 --> 00:08:10.605
Find the lawyers, you know, go through this, you know,

221
00:08:10.605 --> 00:08:13.285
expensive and timely process to try to sort

222
00:08:13.285 --> 00:08:14.725
of get her to pay.

223
00:08:15.105 --> 00:08:17.245
Um, and it looks a lot different if you

224
00:08:17.245 --> 00:08:18.685
are a low income payer.

225
00:08:18.685 --> 00:08:20.485
And like I said, especially if you're getting state

226
00:08:20.765 --> 00:08:23.685
benefits, if you are, you know, like a low income,

227
00:08:23.815 --> 00:08:26.285
let's say, you know, father, black father very,

228
00:08:26.635 --> 00:08:28.805
chances are high, of being

229
00:08:29.265 --> 00:08:33.205
and you are not paying, basically there's a huge range

230
00:08:33.385 --> 00:08:38.045
of, punitive, mechanisms that the state can use.

231
00:08:38.045 --> 00:08:39.885
So states will start with like wage garnishment.

232
00:08:40.185 --> 00:08:42.805
Um, some states will like take away your driver's license,

233
00:08:43.415 --> 00:08:44.685
which again makes no sense

234
00:08:44.685 --> 00:08:46.365
because then you can't get to work, right?

235
00:08:46.425 --> 00:08:49.125
You're like, okay. Um, and also incarceration.

236
00:08:49.185 --> 00:08:51.205
So when wage garnishment fails,

237
00:08:51.465 --> 00:08:54.645
and, you know, the driver's license fails, states turn

238
00:08:54.645 --> 00:08:57.525
to things like civil or criminal contempt of court.

239
00:08:57.745 --> 00:09:00.125
Um, they make charges of criminal non-support.

240
00:09:00.465 --> 00:09:03.285
And all of these things come with a threat of imprisonment.

241
00:09:03.585 --> 00:09:05.445
Um, and I'll give you an example.

242
00:09:05.465 --> 00:09:08.805
In South Carolina, if the child's custodial household

243
00:09:08.805 --> 00:09:10.685
receives any kind of public benefits, like

244
00:09:11.245 --> 00:09:13.045
temporary assistance for needy families

245
00:09:13.045 --> 00:09:15.965
or something like that, it takes only five days

246
00:09:16.305 --> 00:09:17.725
of the person who's supposed to be paying

247
00:09:17.725 --> 00:09:19.605
of the payor parent falling behind

248
00:09:20.145 --> 00:09:21.845
to trigger a civil contempt hearing.

249
00:09:22.145 --> 00:09:24.085
And that could mean going to jail for a year.

250
00:09:24.905 --> 00:09:27.645
Uh, so it's clearly a pathway to incarceration.

251
00:09:27.985 --> 00:09:29.805
Um, I'll give you one more story.

252
00:09:29.825 --> 00:09:31.405
We had a story for Cleopatra.

253
00:09:31.625 --> 00:09:34.645
Um, there's a, the sad story of Walter Scott.

254
00:09:35.185 --> 00:09:38.685
Uh, in 2015, he was in South Carolina, a black man.

255
00:09:38.705 --> 00:09:40.085
He was driving a Mercedes-Benz,

256
00:09:40.465 --> 00:09:43.165
and he was pulled over by the police for a broken taillight.

257
00:09:43.745 --> 00:09:45.645
Uh, so he ran from the police, he was trying

258
00:09:45.645 --> 00:09:48.205
to evade arrest, and the officer shot him eight times in the

259
00:09:48.205 --> 00:09:49.525
back and he killed him.

260
00:09:49.655 --> 00:09:51.925
Scott had long struggled to pay child support.

261
00:09:52.155 --> 00:09:55.085
He'd spent time in jail on three separate occasions, due

262
00:09:55.085 --> 00:09:57.125
to child support arrears, and friends

263
00:09:57.125 --> 00:09:59.645
and family suggested that at the time of his death,

264
00:09:59.705 --> 00:10:01.005
you know, he ran from the officer

265
00:10:01.005 --> 00:10:03.525
because there was a warrant out for his arrest due

266
00:10:03.525 --> 00:10:04.845
to child support arrears again.

267
00:10:05.465 --> 00:10:08.805
Um, and the spokesperson for the family at the time,

268
00:10:08.935 --> 00:10:11.325
after his death, you know, at a press conference, he said,

269
00:10:11.325 --> 00:10:12.765
look, you know, he had four children.

270
00:10:12.865 --> 00:10:14.125
He didn't have a violent past

271
00:10:14.185 --> 00:10:16.125
or any type of, you know, rest for any type of

272
00:10:16.725 --> 00:10:18.205
anything else other than in child support arrears.

273
00:10:18.205 --> 00:10:19.605
He had a job, he was engaged.

274
00:10:20.025 --> 00:10:21.525
Uh, he just had back child support

275
00:10:21.525 --> 00:10:23.485
and didn't want to go to prison, right?

276
00:10:23.665 --> 00:10:27.325
And, sort of shockingly, I think at the time

277
00:10:27.405 --> 00:10:29.085
of this story, one eighth

278
00:10:29.085 --> 00:10:31.445
of South Carolina's inmates were actually in custody

279
00:10:31.515 --> 00:10:33.685
because of failure to pay child support.

280
00:10:33.745 --> 00:10:36.325
So the pathway from, you know, child support, debt

281
00:10:36.345 --> 00:10:39.165
to incarceration is quite clear.

282
00:10:39.225 --> 00:10:41.925
And it's just one more, one more way in which right,

283
00:10:41.925 --> 00:10:44.365
we like create the system of mass incarceration, which

284
00:10:44.825 --> 00:10:47.925
as we discussed, really, you know, has a substantial

285
00:10:48.065 --> 00:10:51.125
and un unusually large burden on,

286
00:10:51.265 --> 00:10:52.845
in this case, you know, black men.

287
00:10:52.945 --> 00:10:54.765
The project is really thinking about, again,

288
00:10:54.765 --> 00:10:55.845
these two populations

289
00:10:55.865 --> 00:10:58.765
and thinking about how families at either end

290
00:10:58.765 --> 00:11:01.005
of the wealth spectrum manage,

291
00:11:01.345 --> 00:11:03.085
and use both credit and debt.

292
00:11:03.865 --> 00:11:05.365
And I think about it in terms

293
00:11:05.365 --> 00:11:07.365
of like both borrowing, but then also debt.

294
00:11:07.425 --> 00:11:09.445
So I've given you a little kind of window into debt.

295
00:11:09.585 --> 00:11:11.845
Uh, but there's also the borrowing piece of it, sort

296
00:11:11.845 --> 00:11:13.325
of the flip side of the coin, right?

297
00:11:13.785 --> 00:11:16.525
Um, often people think of borrowing, you know,

298
00:11:16.745 --> 00:11:17.965
as disconnected from the debt,

299
00:11:17.965 --> 00:11:20.205
but obviously there, there are two parts of the same thing.

300
00:11:20.425 --> 00:11:22.365
So just the terms on which people borrow.

301
00:11:22.705 --> 00:11:25.605
Um, you know, and that gets into things like payday lending

302
00:11:25.945 --> 00:11:28.925
and all of these sort of, what we call fringe, you know,

303
00:11:28.925 --> 00:11:33.045
lending boutiques, and how low income, families

304
00:11:33.045 --> 00:11:34.845
and individuals borrow heavily from

305
00:11:34.845 --> 00:11:35.965
these type of payday lenders.

306
00:11:36.345 --> 00:11:39.005
Um, whereas high wealth, individuals, right?

307
00:11:39.005 --> 00:11:41.245
They actually do borrow, they borrow from their own set

308
00:11:41.245 --> 00:11:42.245
of fringe lenders.

309
00:11:42.245 --> 00:11:44.525
They're just, you know, trust boutique, you know,

310
00:11:44.925 --> 00:11:46.725
boutique trust firms or offshore, you know,

311
00:11:47.155 --> 00:11:48.365
financial institutions.

312
00:11:49.065 --> 00:11:50.725
Um, they borrow, right?

313
00:11:50.745 --> 00:11:52.405
So that they don't have, they borrow,

314
00:11:52.405 --> 00:11:53.925
they do securities backed lending.

315
00:11:54.075 --> 00:11:56.005
They don't have to sell anything, they don't have

316
00:11:56.005 --> 00:11:57.485
to pay any capital gains, right?

317
00:11:57.485 --> 00:11:59.965
They live off of this, you know, borrowed income.

318
00:11:59.965 --> 00:12:01.205
They don't have any income tax

319
00:12:01.405 --> 00:12:03.285
'cause they don't make any income, right?

320
00:12:03.345 --> 00:12:05.365
And then they just keep passing the wealth down.

321
00:12:05.545 --> 00:12:08.605
So kind of differences in how people borrow, differences in

322
00:12:08.605 --> 00:12:09.965
how debt affects the families.

323
00:12:10.225 --> 00:12:12.445
And then a little bit about sort of

324
00:12:12.625 --> 00:12:14.205
how this happens across the map,

325
00:12:14.205 --> 00:12:15.885
what the geography of this looks like.

326
00:12:16.505 --> 00:12:19.685
Um, so where payday lenders are located versus where these,

327
00:12:20.065 --> 00:12:22.085
you know, these like, you know, offshore

328
00:12:22.225 --> 00:12:23.405
or now onshore, right?

329
00:12:23.405 --> 00:12:26.005
These, like these, boutique trust firms,

330
00:12:26.465 --> 00:12:28.485
are located, you know, now they're in Wyoming

331
00:12:28.665 --> 00:12:32.365
and South Dakota and Alaska and you know, Delaware,

332
00:12:32.425 --> 00:12:35.045
and they're, all of these states are competing with the

333
00:12:35.645 --> 00:12:37.245
offshore financial centers for business.

334
00:12:37.245 --> 00:12:38.725
And, you know, they all call themselves sort

335
00:12:38.725 --> 00:12:41.125
of like the new onshore offshore, right?

336
00:12:41.665 --> 00:12:43.205
So all of these, you know, again,

337
00:12:43.205 --> 00:12:45.085
it's a very geographical thing in the sense of none

338
00:12:45.085 --> 00:12:46.245
of these are what we consider

339
00:12:46.245 --> 00:12:48.165
to be like mainstream banking, right?

340
00:12:48.195 --> 00:12:50.965
It's all on the, on the, on the fringe ends.

341
00:12:50.985 --> 00:12:52.565
Um, so there's a geography to it.

342
00:12:52.905 --> 00:12:55.125
And then I also like talk a little bit about the cultural

343
00:12:55.125 --> 00:12:58.685
narratives that support these type of programs and policies.

344
00:12:58.685 --> 00:13:00.365
And especially with child support.

345
00:13:00.465 --> 00:13:01.885
One of the things which I think, you know,

346
00:13:01.885 --> 00:13:04.525
people probably have in their mind is the image

347
00:13:04.525 --> 00:13:07.165
of the deadbeat dad, which is something that really,

348
00:13:07.545 --> 00:13:11.045
you know, was propo was invented by, and then circulated

349
00:13:11.105 --> 00:13:14.125
and propounded by American politicians, starting

350
00:13:14.125 --> 00:13:15.645
with Reagan, seeing the father

351
00:13:16.065 --> 00:13:18.965
who couldn't pay child support as the, you know,

352
00:13:18.965 --> 00:13:20.285
this really symbol of failure

353
00:13:20.585 --> 00:13:25.365
and of moral, you know, moral, you know, bankruptcy.

354
00:13:25.995 --> 00:13:28.165
Yeah, moral bankruptcy, exactly. Great word.

355
00:13:28.225 --> 00:13:31.925
So the ability to, you know, to, to support these types of,

356
00:13:32.105 --> 00:13:36.125
programs, again, this type of legal framework through,

357
00:13:36.305 --> 00:13:39.085
creating blame, you know, the Dead V Dat came

358
00:13:39.085 --> 00:13:41.125
around at the same time about as the welfare queen,

359
00:13:41.125 --> 00:13:44.805
which everyone is very familiar with as a highly racialized

360
00:13:45.145 --> 00:13:47.325
and, you know, morally charged trope.

361
00:13:47.505 --> 00:13:49.405
And the same thing with the deadbeat dead.

362
00:13:49.405 --> 00:13:51.365
And, you know, and this is not to say that, you know,

363
00:13:51.665 --> 00:13:54.165
in all, in all the circumstances, if things, you know,

364
00:13:54.625 --> 00:13:56.125
as people can, they should be

365
00:13:56.125 --> 00:13:57.365
supporting their children, obviously.

366
00:13:57.825 --> 00:14:00.765
Um, but I think what's interesting when you look at the ways

367
00:14:00.795 --> 00:14:03.285
that child support is governed, especially

368
00:14:03.285 --> 00:14:05.165
for these low income, payers,

369
00:14:05.625 --> 00:14:07.605
it just doesn't even seem like they are,

370
00:14:08.145 --> 00:14:10.685
the policies are in place to help children, right?

371
00:14:10.985 --> 00:14:14.365
Who, are a family receiving benefits

372
00:14:14.705 --> 00:14:17.005
and, you know, child support's due, the money's gonna go

373
00:14:17.005 --> 00:14:19.085
to the state before it goes to the children, right?

374
00:14:19.155 --> 00:14:20.645
Like, the children aren't gonna see the money.

375
00:14:20.905 --> 00:14:23.485
You're actually like reimbursing the state.

376
00:14:23.725 --> 00:14:26.445
I think about it's a huge number, a huge percentage

377
00:14:26.445 --> 00:14:28.685
of child support arrears is actually owed to the government

378
00:14:28.745 --> 00:14:30.285
as opposed to being owed to the children.

379
00:14:30.585 --> 00:14:33.445
So I just think it's interesting to look at it, you know,

380
00:14:33.445 --> 00:14:35.445
there's the, again, you think of a deadbeat debt

381
00:14:35.445 --> 00:14:36.525
and you think of somebody who's, you know,

382
00:14:36.545 --> 00:14:37.605
got all the money in the bank

383
00:14:37.625 --> 00:14:39.525
and like, just isn't paying, right?

384
00:14:39.785 --> 00:14:41.925
But to make it a little more complicated, to think

385
00:14:41.925 --> 00:14:45.205
of the story in terms of like, who can pay, who can't pay,

386
00:14:45.265 --> 00:14:46.525
you know, maybe somebody's not paying

387
00:14:46.525 --> 00:14:48.565
because they're incarcerated and they can't work, right?

388
00:14:49.095 --> 00:14:50.845
Maybe somebody's paying, you know, not

389
00:14:50.845 --> 00:14:53.885
Paying because, you know, various circumstances.

390
00:14:53.895 --> 00:14:55.965
Maybe somebody's not paying because they have all this money

391
00:14:55.965 --> 00:14:57.125
and trust and they should be paying.

392
00:14:57.185 --> 00:14:59.605
So there's a lot of dis it's more complicated than sort

393
00:14:59.605 --> 00:15:00.925
of the story of the deadbeat dad,

394
00:15:00.925 --> 00:15:03.005
but it's, that's a story that gets a lot of attention.

395
00:15:03.945 --> 00:15:05.885
And again, it's obviously a gendered, you know,

396
00:15:06.165 --> 00:15:09.205
a gendered figure and, and I think often erased figure.

397
00:15:09.905 --> 00:15:12.685
Um, and it really gets the attention of people without,

398
00:15:12.875 --> 00:15:16.645
without, without making people go into sort

399
00:15:16.645 --> 00:15:18.925
of the more complicated parts of like, who can pay

400
00:15:18.925 --> 00:15:20.165
and who's getting the money,

401
00:15:20.265 --> 00:15:21.965
and how do we actually help families,

402
00:15:21.965 --> 00:15:23.845
which I think should be the ultimate, you know, question.

Faculti AI can make mistakes

Faculti

Popular in Professional

Human Rights and Corruption: Problems and Potential of Individualising a Systemic Problem

A statistical approach to law school citation rankings

High school change

What is constitutional ideology?

Politics, Identity, and Class Certification on the U.S. Courts of Appeals

The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place

The Role of Education in Reducing Racial Inequality

Debt Governance, Wealth Management, and the Uneven Burdens of Child Support

Next in Law

Guide

Platform and Category Pages

Contact Us

FAQs

What is Faculti?

How do you select interviews?

Interview Process

Page Structure

Popular in Professional

Guide

Platform and Category Pages

Contact Us

FAQs

What is Faculti?

How do you select interviews?

Interview Process

Accessibility Options

Contrast Adjustment

Text Size Adjustment

Text Spacing Adjustment

Line Height Adjustment

Cursor Size Adjustment

Page Structure Options

Page Structure