Mr. Flynn has shared with those of us who are in a planet-wide father's rights Yahoo! group your proposal to change New Zealand law to favor shared parenting.  You present an argument that one reason for nonpayment of child support within New Zealand is the lack of access the noncustodials have to seeing their children.  Mr. Flynn has urged us all to send you e-mails of support for your endeavors and to thank you for fighting on behalf of the rights of noncustodial parents.

Therefore I thank you for your efforts and offer you what support an American can from Seattle, a place some 9,000 miles distant.

Having said that, I believe that your proposal only addresses part of the problem.

One part is the absolute abdication of responsibility on the part of governments everywhere the people achieved a standard of living sufficient to support reasonable housing with running water, electricity, etc. to protect their citizens' jobs and income from competition with businesses that locate their production where the standard of living is not quite so comfortable. As an example of this, I read that New Zealand once had an automobile industry.  New Zealanders actually made cars.  When New Zealand entered free trade agreements this industry vanished.  Those New Zealanders who once made cars probably have been unable to keep up with their child support orders.

A distinct possibility, no?

Another illustration is Ohio Art, the American company that sells the Etch-a-Sketch, a popular children's toy.  After Christmas 2000, Ohio Art shut down its American factory and contracted with a factory in China where the minimum wage is about 1/10 of the American minimum wage.  Some Americans in Ohio who used to make these toys are now falling behind in their child support.  Yes, I am afraid that is true, but we seem to blame them for this sad circumstance, and not the decision of corporate management forced by the free trade system.  I have yet to hear of Michael Moore and the World Trade Organization being sent to jail because they cause non-custodial parents to fall out of compliance with their child support orders.

But that is not all.  It seems that Ohio Art, try as they might, cannot seem to verify that the Chinese factory is actually complying with the CHINESE minimum wage and overtime laws!

So these Chinese workers are not able to support their children, even though they are working heavy overtime, making the toys that once allowed Americans to support their children.

See what I am getting at?

Now I understand that Boeing, an airplane manufacturer based right here in the State of Washington, has fallen behind Airbus in sales of aircraft.  Hmmm.  I wonder what is going on here?  Perhaps if Ohio Art, a maker of mere toys, cannot verify the labor standards at a Chinese factory, then how can Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas-Rockwell verify the QUALITY of AIRCRAFT PARTS made in similar factories in China and elsewhere in the Third World?

GOOD QUESTION!!!!

Perhaps the airlines, who naturally prefer that their aircraft return to the ground in a reasonably organized and controlled fashion, have decided that if they are stuck with buying aircraft from a Hybrid Monstrosity that has outsourced most of its production to the cheap labor of the Third World, they might as well go with the outfit that has been a Hybrid Monstrosity outsourcing its parts production from its beginning, Airbus!

Such an intelligent move by the world's governments to allow corporate mergers right and left, just for the asking!  No need to inquire if a merger is a good idea from the standpoint of ANY consideration!

Would you believe that noncompliance with child support has increased in the State of Washington?

Why do you suppose that is?

But again, this is not the only part of the problem.

You see, child support has to be VOLUNTARY or it will NEVER work!

Wait a minute, how can that be, you might ask.  Surely a parent does not mind supporting his children.

Well, ask yourself this question:  Do you mind working for a living?

Of course not.

Do you mind being laid off?

Yes, because as I do not mind working for a living, being laid off means that I don't get to do it for a while.

Ah, but would you mind having to report making 3 or 5 or 10 job contacts with employers each week?

Well, I do that for my unemployment compensation.

Yes, but you are being PAID for making those reports.  One is not required to sign up for unemployment merely because one is eligible.  But would you mind being required to go to a courtroom and explain your efforts at obtaining employment to a hostile, rude, obnoxious, and arbitrary person in a black robe who, if he or she does not like your explanation, can order you immediately imprisoned, and there are the uniformed deputy sheriffs with LOADED GUNS in their holsters to lead you off to jail?

And if you do mind that, how does having a child to support make it better?

THAT is what I am driving at.

You see, the issue here is FREEDOM versus SLAVERY.

As happened in the history of my nation before our Civil War, the problem was that there IS NO MIDDLE GROUND when the issue is SLAVERY.  Either you believe ALL human beings are entitled to the dignity of freedom, or you believe it is permissible and necessary to take that away from some.

Those who believe ALL humans are entitled to the dignity of freedom CANNOT COMPROMISE with those who do not.

And that is the entire problem with the Child Support Crusade as it presently exists.

For a perspective on this matter in terms of American law, please see www.antipeonage.0catch.com.

One other item for thought.  History shows that when people are abused by their own government like this, they do funny things:  Massachusetts Minutemen shooting it out with the British Army at Concord Bridge.  French people tearing apart the Bastille prison, inventing a new system of weights and measures, and lopping off the heads of their oppressors and each other.  Russians blasting away at the Winter Palace!  Nutcases like Napoleon, Stalin, and Ayatollah Khomeini being put in charge. What fun!  As President Kennedy said, those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.

If the back button does not take you there, click Home to go to the Index page of this Antipeonage Act Website, click Enemies for the main Enemies page, click Letters for the Letters page, and click Allies for the Allies page.  Or you can use the Antipeonage Act Site Map.