Why Do Legislators Raise, but Rarely Lower, Child Support Guidelines?
High child support guidelines are popular among politicians because they make the candidate appear to be sensitive to women’s and children’s concerns. But there are other reasons why legislators support high child support guidelines, particularly for high-earners–matching federal funds. States receive federal reimbursement funds for every child support dollar they collect. Originally these federal subsidies were for the purpose of rooting out “deadbeat dads” and forcing them to pay. In reality, states shoehorn as many noncustodial parents as possible into the state system, so that when these dads pay their child support, the states can collect federal subsidies for these “collections.” This is particularly true with high-earners–the states get subsidies for the sizable monies collected, without having to spend money on enforcement action. In 2006, the then-Republican Congress reduced federal subsidies to state child support enforcement programs, as a budget-cutting measure. Currently
