The controversial California Reparations Task Force has recently made a bold appeal to the state’s Democratic-led legislature, demanding the abolition of child support debt exclusively for the state’s Black residents.
The Task Force argues this move is a necessary countermeasure to the oppressive national laws that, in their view, have stunted the growth of the African American community and fractured their families.
In an extensive 1,100-page report released last week, the Task Force presented calculations that could translate into potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in payouts. As alarming as the statistics may seem about the demographic distribution of child support debt, and the fact that Black Californians bear a disproportionately large percentage of it, there are glaring issues with this proposed solution.
The Task Force boldly claims that so-called ‘discriminatory’ laws have torn African American families apart and caused damage due to the “disproportionate amount of African Americans burdened with child support debt.”
They also assert that the state’s policy of charging a 10% interest on overdue child support places significant barriers to the African American community’s ability to pursue further education, secure employment, maintain housing, and attend job training programs.
However, a critical question arises from these claims: Isn’t child support intended to secure the welfare of children? Discharging this debt will ultimately disadvantage the children, the innocent victims, who were supposed to benefit from these payments. Therefore, to frame the issue as solely a racially discriminatory system seems to conveniently overlook the broader implications of such a recommendation.
FOX News report:
The report cited a 2003 California Department of Child Support Services study that estimated 27% of owed child support in the state was unpaid interest, that those who owed child support had lower incomes than “the typical California worker” and that such interest required a larger portion of their income to actually pay the debt.
“The Task Force recommends that the Legislature enact legislation to terminate all interest accrued on back child support, requiring only the payment of the principal owed. At a minimum, the proposal recommends that the Legislature eliminate the prospective accrual of interest on child support debt for low-income parents,” the report said.
“The Task Force further recommends that the Legislature amend Family Code section 17560, the ‘offers in compromise’ provision, to allow for offers in compromise and forgiveness of child support debt based solely on a parent’s fnancial (sic) circumstances and ability to pay,” it added.
The report is a culmination of two years of research done by the task force into what it says is the historical discrimination faced by Black Californians and their ancestors in the state.
It also offers a broad account of the ways it accuses the state of wronging descendants of Black slaves.
Jim Hoft
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