Today I review Kramer v Kramer from my collection of divorce, child custody and child support related movies.
Kramer v Kramer [1979] - Based upon the novel by Avery Corman; directed by Robert Benton. Starring Dustin Hoffman who portrays a father left to be the sole caregiver and provider for his young son after the mother, played by Meryl Streep, abandons them to pursue her own interest and find herself. Hoffman must balance a high pressure career with single parenting. Streep later returns after deciding she again wanted to be a parent. A bitter custody battle ensues as Hoffman seeks to protect their child from the disruption that Streep seeks to introduced into the boy's life. Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Hoffman does somewhat of a poor job managing the child's issues with the maternal abandonment during periods of frustration but also provides rational insight. The film accurately portrays the tactics used to gain damaging information against the other parent and how the parent is ambushed by that revelation during the custody proceeding. The judicial bias favouring the mother, even one who abandons the child and is mentally unstable is demonstrated convincingly. Streep does a brilliant job in developing the character who has yet to fully gain control over her own life but uses the win in the custody battle as a means to control the father. Ultimately, although she had won custody, Streep tells Hoffman that the child's home is with him and she will not be taking him, thus controlling where the child will reside and having control over the one thing she can.
This is a must see film for anyone, especially a father, who is facing a petition for custody brought on by an abandoning parent. My marriage and subsequent custody battle nearly mirrored this plot line. Therin's mother abandoned him at age three while proclaiming, "There can only be one person who is most important in your life and that has to be yourself." It was months later that she returned with a divorce petition and sought sole legal physical custody of the child she repeatedly said she wished was never born. Although I had been the only stable parent in our son's life and was his sole financial provider Judge Steve David clearly demonstrated the judicial bias favouring mothers and gave Elica exactly what she had asked for. This is an outstanding film and well deserving of the five Academy Awards it received.
If there is a movie that you would like reviewed please send a request to me. The complete list of movies I have reviewed may be viewed here.
If you need assistance with parenting time, custody or support issues please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2011 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Divorce and Custody Movie Review - Kramer v Kramer
Monday, November 7, 2011
Does the American Work Schedule Harm Children? Part 1 of 3
Among my daily activities, which includes hours of exercise, are numerous hobbies such as gardening, woodworking, cooking and learning in general. This week I have been studying from an LSAT prep book although I have no plans to take the test, but I do enjoy taking the practice quizzes and preparing myself to teach my son who plans to be a lawyer.
There is also daily examinations of world financial markets and the study of personal finance. My overarching life pursuit is the implementation of statute and policy for the best interest of children along with coaching parents on how to ensure the same. It's the juxtaposition of these two that provided the impetus for this posting which will be presented in three parts.
To start let's look at American employment. As for work hours, Americans put in an average of almost 1,800 per year. Average earnings are $26.39 per hour. Average annual earnings are around $46,500.
Using data by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, the average productivity per American worker has increased 400% since 1950. One way to look at that is that it should only take one-quarter the work hours, or 11 hours per week, to afford the same standard of living as a worker 60 years ago, a bit over two generations.
The latest employment report from the US Department of Labour again indicates that hours and wages are increasing while unemployment remains stubbornly high at 9% or more. New applications for unemployment compensation are still exceeding 400,000 per week on average while economic growth lags that necessary to boost employment.
If productivity per worker has been increasing, propelled by automation and cyber-technology, and the economy is not growing then shouldn't the workweek be decreasing?
Although not widely accepted by society it is clearly true that one adult member of the household working 40 hours per week or two working 25 hours per week is more than sufficient to meet the financial needs of a typical family. This is true even for minimum wage employment.
But this week, as I added 6 hours to my 600 hour work-year, I can assure you that those numbers far exceed what is necessary, are damaging to our economy and are harming our children.
It is no coincidence that I have had about a 12 hour workweek on average for years nor that I found that 11 hour workweek statistic yesterday. The reality is there is no need for a longer average workweek. If an employer was to demand more from me, then that employer would cease to be such. My son is too important to me as is my leisure time, health and learning. I am in a very small minority though.
Workers in other countries have shorter workweeks and much longer paid vacation time than in the United States.
It is then necessary to examine why Americans work more than people in other countries. Ask most workers and they will regurgitate the reasons created by our political, business and cultural leaders. That is, it is necessary to survive in today's competitive economy and survive. Whether deliberate, through brainwashing or to deny their true motivations that answer is simply wrong.
American socialists and capitalists are rooted strictly in a financial dichotomy. Our O'Bama type socialists and unions want to take whatever they can from the producers of wealth while the producers of wealth want to give as little as possible to those who act as siphons to productivity.
Contrary to expectations both factions of our ruling party reject any efforts to mandate relief for employees in the form of a reduced workweek, paid vacation time or increased personal days. Republicans and Democrats have both ensured that the US maintain its number one rank as the developed nation with the least time off for employees.
There is one common factor among our political, business and cultural leaders. They all use it to exploit workers and maintain control while professing to show concern for their interest. Quite simply it is the greed compulsion.
I previously mentioned our stubbornly high official unemployment rate. That is a direct result of this need for greed. Those who are employed, especially collectively, have inhibited those seeking employment. Minimum wage laws have been enacted to keep new, cost competitive workers from entering the workforce. Unions have demanded benefit packages that make it more expensive to spread the cost of labour over more workers. Recent efforts to increase unemployment compensation costs for employers will keep them from hiring more employees.
It has now, by design, become more expensive to hire additional employees rather than pay overtime to current employees. In essence current employees increase their wealth at the expense of their neighbor who they seek to put in the doghouse.
This is in stark contrast to the Depression era workforce who embraced the 30 hour workweek that increased employment for their unemployed neighbors and helped to bring the country out of financial despair.
European and Asian socialists unselfishly seek to assist their brethren and base their success on the success of their neighbors. Americans on-the-other-hand find success in trampling over their neighbor; bigger house, better car, more luxuries and overall higher measurable status.
In part two I will examine what Americans' increased productivity and longer work-hours has gained for or cost them.
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Parents who would like to achieve the best outcome for their children in a contested child custody case should visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me. Attorneys may request a free consultation to learn how I can maximize their advocacy for their clients.
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Sunday, November 6, 2011
Divorce and Custody Movie Review - Fine Things
Today I review Fine Things from my collection of divorce, child custody and child support related movies.
Fine Things [1990] Based upon Danielle Steel's novel "Fine Things"; directed by Tom Moore. A single mother of a young girl tells her that her father had died rather than have the girl know the truth and confront the self-blame that children generally assess from the split. As they go about their regular routines they become separated in a department store where they are assisted by the manager and a relationship soon blossoms. They marry and have a child of their own. The mother's former husband comes back on the scene and a battle for custody ensues. Before the custody matter is settled the mother is fatally stricken by cancer.
This is a low budget production and naturally suffers from some of the common issues faced by such pictures. The strength of the story carries it through as the characters are well developed through realistic situations. It takes a special director to bring out a natural performance in a child and although some of the scenes involving the little girl are stilted a believable performance, largely based upon the dialogue, is still produced.
The divorce, subsequent marriage and custody related issues are address but remain as a backdrop for the most part until the actual custody battle portion of the film takes center stage. The legal issues surrounding custody are dispensed with quickly in a realistic but orderly fashion that does not bog-down the movie as a courtroom flick. Steel has obviously done some research to give a realistic depiction of the custody issues.
Ultimately the man gets together with the local doctor and after the father gets arrested on federal drug charges, while the custody hearing is proceeding, the man adopts the little girl. Everything turns out just peachy and the film concludes in a cacophony of uplifting music, a picturesque backdrop and the entire family brimming with joy. So much so that I nearly puked.
If there is a movie that you would like reviewed please send a request to me. The complete list of movies I have reviewed may be viewed here.
If you need assistance with parenting time, custody or support issues please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2011 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
S&P 500 Year End Predictions for 2011
Today marks two months until the first day of the coming year and the day following the largest percentage gain for the Standard and Poor's 500 index since 1987. Last Thursday CNBC contributors and their top cheerleader Jim Cramer, who's moods change with the tide of the daily trading direction, were touting new highs to come for the S&P 500 index this year based upon a disconnect between Europe and US fundamentals.
Throughout the day last Thursday, as the market continued to climb based upon the Greek bailout agreement, their stories and quoted analyst all pointed towards an ever climbing market that may see a little pullback before surging higher. Yet on the preceding day around 1:00pm the FastMoney Traders called a lower market going into the close. But it was only moments later that the market turned higher.
The purpose in pointing this out is to just let you know that these people are nothing but cheerleaders. If they had the legs and boobs they would be on the 50 yard line of the Superbowl instead of behind the desk. They share equal knowledge of the current market and prognostications as those on the 50 yard line.
On Thursday I also thought that the market would be going down. At that point for the account that I manage I had liquidated all the long positions, except a small position in Eastman Kodak [EK] which I had purchased at $.78 per share, and shorted the S&P 500 index. My trade was to buy SH at 12:23pm for $40.46 per share.
I have one cardinal principle which I base my trading upon; to provide support for investors by buying stock when prices decline and to give investors an opportunity to buy into the market before it surges too high by selling as prices vault ahead. My philanthropic agenda had resulted in a 12% gain for my investor for the preceding three months on the money put at risk.
Unfortunately I have too many projects going on to be able to dedicate the time necessary to monitor the markets throughout the day and make regular trades. Often times my trades are executed by limit orders or when I happen to get a chance to get online and check the market.
My trades are always based upon mood. Do I feel that the market has declined too much too quickly or the opposite without justification. Such was the case on Thursday.
In examining the third quarter GDP report and the Greek Bailout arrangement I came to the conclusion that both were false positives and that the rapid price appreciation in the market was unjustified based upon fundamentals.
The GDP report, although showing a 2.5% gain, I believe demonstrated a consumer and business appetite to spend, regardless of the future uncertainty and that it was done with borrowed money. This is a prescription for future contraction as pent up demand doesn't get released on a regular basis. I believe the next GDP report will show expansion of only about 1%.
I believe that the Greek Bailout agreement is farcical. To put it into context for you I present this analogy. You are a struggling manufacturer on the brink of bankruptcy when a distributor comes to you with a plan to bring you out of the abyss. He has 20 retail sellers as clients who he says will buy your product at a set price. Quite simply they will send money to you directly for a sum total. The details that have been left out are when payment will be made and how this big increase in demand is actually going to materialize. The traders on Thursday thought that would be good enough for you to immediately ramp up production but I didn't.
Although today appears set to be another down day with the S&P 500 futures being down as much as 26 points in the premarket [the few hours before regular trading where all trading is executed electronically through limit orders] I had already sold my short position last night at 6:05pm for $41.26 per share. A 2% gain in as many trading days was good enough for me and consistent with my day trading mindset.
So here I sit at 6:00am ready to buy back into the S&P 500 with about a 10% commitment. So, at 7:04am I executed a buy of SSO at $44.52 expecting further weakness but buying back what I sold last week at $46.00.
Although I have never bet wrong my trades have not always come as quickly as I would have liked. Although I expect more downside I can buy in now and make a profit. My target for the S&P 500 remains where it was on the first day of this year: the S&P 500 will not close out the year higher.
Here are some other predictions by Wall Street's elite analysts.
Goldman Sachs 1500
UBS 1425
David Bianco - Bank of America Merrill Lynch1400
Mary Ann Bartels - Bank of America1400
Tobias Levkovich - Citigroup 1400
Barry Knapp - Barclays Capital Management 1400
Wells Fargo 1390
BlackRock Inc. 1350
If any of these prognosticators are correct I hope that I am heavily invested in the market at the time. It will take 60 days to see.
If you need assistance with financial or life issues such as learning to control irrational behaviours and herd mentality then please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2011 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Domestic Relations Committee to meet in November to Finalize Proposed Amendments to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
The Domestic Relations Committee [DRC] of the Indiana Judicial Center had been scheduled to meet on Friday, 21 October 2011 but that session was canceled. The next session of the DRC will be on Thursday and Friday, 17-18 November 2011.
The Committee has been working on amending Indiana's Parenting Time Guidelines [IPTG]. Public input has been received and numerous recommended changes will be proposed.
Among the notable changes will be a simplification of the Winter Break/New Years Day schedule. Also, the ambiguous language surrounding resumption of the regular parenting time schedule following a change because of the holiday schedule will also be included. Since its first publication the rule regarding whether a parent can have only two consecutive weekends or three has confounded parents, attorneys and judges.
It is the express intent of the Committee that the time children spend with both parents is maximized and that the Guidelines be used as guidelines only and are not viewed as the default parenting time schedule as has been commonplace since their inception.
Language will be included to instruct parents, lawyers and judges that the Guidelines are to be used as a starting point from which individual parenting time plans, conducive to the best interest of the children while maximizing their time with the parents, can be constructed.
In addition to the Parenting Time Guidelines the Committee also prepared rules for Parenting Time Coordination. These rules will be integrated with the IPTG.
The final proposed draft of the amended Guidelines will be presented to the Indiana Supreme Court for adoption.
Generally the adoption of rule changes become effective on January 1 of the following year.
If you need assistance with parenting time or custody issues please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2011 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Divorce and Custody Movie Review - Falling Down
Today I review Falling Down from my collection of divorce, child custody and child support related movies.
Falling Down [1992] - Written by Ebbe Roe Smith; directed by Joel Schumacher. Starring Michael Douglas who portrays a divorced man on a mission to see his daughter on her birthday. It is subtly implied that his intolerance and anger issues have led to his divorce which he blames on his mother. A month after being dismissed from a defense contractor job he unwinds while sitting in stopped traffic at the beginning of his day. Throughout the day he unleashed his brand of justice upon anything or anyone he perceives as not meeting his standards. As he closes in upon the home of his ex-wife and daughter he envisions that "Everything will be just like it was before".
Director of Photography Andrzej Bartkowiak does an excellent job of bringing the viewer into the picture. The story is well delivered by Schumacher who shows enough action and violence to convey the story without going over the top. Although Douglas is given the appearance of some justification in his actions it is well demonstrated and aptly so that he was clearly not a stable parent nor acting in the best interest of his child. The story is predictable but compelling to view as Douglas' character teeters on the brink of falling apart while coming to realizations about himself and the ultimate consequences of his actions.
If there is a movie that you would like reviewed please send a request to me. The complete list of movies I have reviewed may be viewed here.
If you need assistance with parenting time, custody or support issues please visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me.
If you would like to follow my activities more closely then send a friend request to my Political FaceBook page.
Subscribe to this blawg.
More information about child custody rights and procedures may be found on the Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates website.
©2011 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Benefits of High Unemployment
With the official unemployment rate persistently hovering above 9% and new applications for unemployment compensation exceeding 400,000 weekly many pundits and politicians lament this scenario and offer dire warnings. However, I do not believe that a high unemployment rate is a precursor to the doom and gloom prognostications that spill forth from the lesser enlightened.
My compendium of the benefits of high unemployment will focus on four main areas: government, business, economy and society.
Government
Much of the panic in financial markets that opened the month of October was speculation that one of the world's most socialist governments, Greece, may default on it's loan obligations. Greece is currently being funded by other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund so that it can cover it's pension and welfare payments. But, the funding is conditional. Greece has been forced to agree to austerity measures; financial reforms that reduce government spending in an effort to achieve a budget surplus so that the loans can be repaid.
The United States has been operating in much the same manner as its more extreme socialist counterparts. Standard & Poors recently downgraded the debt rating of the United states Government based upon a high ratio of debt to production, known as the Gross Domestic Product or GDP. Since the US Government obtains most of its revenue from personal income taxes and embedded taxes paid by consumers, a high unemployment rate will reduce government revenue.
To maintain its high rating and to continue to ensure that nations such as China continue to buy our bonds and fund our deficit spending the US Government will eventually need to cut spending. As the riots in Greece demonstrate the populace is not in favour of cuts that directly withdraw welfare payments from the citizenry.
Some of those cuts are exactly what we need such as raising the retirement age for Social Security benefits to 85. Common sense approaches such as that are very unlikely from a Congress that is having difficulty in facing statutory debt limits on a regular basis. Although recent deficit spending produced a 2.5% growth rate in GDP the next danger to financial markets will be a potential US downgrade based upon lack of Congressional action.
We do have the benefit of grass roots activists such as the Tea Party bringing forth the reality of government waste and invasive programs that should be slashed or eliminated. The first that comes to mind is the Department of Education. Nowhere in the US Constitution is education founded upon the federal government. In fact, it is constitutionally specifically reserved as a state issue.
The avarice of "educators" has been a significant burden on taxpayers as has the entire educational superstructure. It is no secret that I am a longtime iconoclast of that educational superstructure and will go into the crippling effects of that later.
Areas where the federal government has been intrusive into our individual rights and the purview of the many states should be the first to go in an effort to sustain a balanced budget. Projected long-term unemployment will help the Congressional Budget Office make realistic revenue expectations and help Congress make these necessary cuts.
Business
Traditionally, economic contraction has been seen as a bad thing. The logic was that reduced economic activity leads to layoffs which leads to fewer people having money to spend which leads to further economic weakness and thus lower corporate earnings. In the past few years we have been operating under a new corporate paradigm.
Consistently high unemployment is a good thing for business. Recently I saw where a company had approximately 100 job openings and received 25,000 applications. This allows that company to select new employees from within the top 1% of applicants. This will surely lead to increased employee productivity as the company needs only to hire the best possible employees. Not only will the new employees be more productive but the current employees are put on notice that there are 24,900 people waiting in line to replace them if their productivity is insufficient.
As corporations facilitate the use of technology and outside suppliers they become less subject to the bane of their need for employees. Machines do not demand outrageous benefits or sue them for every perceived intrusion upon "their rights". As an entrepreneur 20 years ago I submitted a declaration to the Indiana Department of Revenue that I would never have an employee. Through the use of technology and the occasional use of independent contractors I have managed to avoid the suffocating stranglehold of having an employee. Corporate America has recently come to the same conclusion.
A corporation that experiences a sales reduction requires less manufacturing, distribution or office space as their specific operational needs may require. Just as with employees this allows the corporations to choose to maintain only those lease agreements that provide the greatest return thereby again increasing corporate profits.
Additionally, the reduced demand for manufacturing, distribution or office space allows the corporations to demand lower lease payments and thus they do not finance the former opulent lifestyles of the land corporation executives. The supply and demand equation is now working in favour of the corporations much to the chagrin of the formally trained economists who do not comprehend this new paradigm.
Proof of the benefits to corporations of high unemployment are already appearing in government measures of payroll and employment costs. While overall productivity is increasing as less productive workers are dismissed the rate of increase in the cost of wages and benefits is decreasing. Benefits, which account for about 30% of employee cost, saw the greatest reduction.
Economy
The reduction in GDP, particularly two consecutive quarters of contraction, which defines a recession, has gotten the financial markets spooked and resulted in a near 20% sell-off in the major indexes since the highs set in the Spring of this year. Here is where I stand poised to create significant returns in equity investments. I understand how the persistently high unemployment will be an economic benefit.
Since this beginning of this month, when it took a statement from the Federal Reserve Chairman for many pundits and traders to realize what I already knew, there have been major declines in interest rates and commodity costs. You have likely already seen this in the sudden drop in gasoline prices. Metals such as Copper and Silver saw about a 1/4 decline in one week. That means everything from household appliances to paper clips and every means of transportation or energy production would cost less.
The third quarter GDP report released this week showed a modest 2.5% increase, much higher than expected and not pointing to a recession although I believe a deeper analysis does. This helped to boost commodity prices as traders saw this growth leading to greater demand for raw materials. If employment was higher then demand would follow as would inflation.
Borrowing costs for those who have already deleveraged will be going down. Mortgage rates on new homes are in the sub 4% range. Credit card and automotive interest rates are also declining as are the borrowing costs for school corporations and local government entities which account for much of our property tax expenditures. The tax demand is now being reduced.
Consumer buying power and discretionary spending will be increased by this lower demand scenario. The cost of driving to work for those that do and getting foods to the grocery store have now gone down.
This paucity of increased discretionary spending will not be enough to drive our economy back to a sustainable level. Businesses and consumers need tax relief to allow the financial market to operate. If the US was to adopt the FairTax as proposed by Fairtax.Org we would not be in the current financial predicament that currently plagues the country.
It is not the panacea that will cure all of our ills but in comparing the tax structures that the European countries experiencing economic doldrums operate under it is clear that the FairTax is a viable solution.
Fewer workers is not directly related to a declining economy or lower standard of living. To the contrary I argue that under this new paradigm it leads to a healthier economy. Those who have failed to adjust to or understand this may feel that the country, or world for that matter, is on the verge of an economic cataclysm. However, it is not.
Society
So what does this all mean for you and me, society? Long term unemployment simply means that we are reverting to a former time when there were fewer job positions and a low unemployment rate. This should be and will become the norm. The pundits and politicians who are trying to convince us otherwise are simply wrong.
All euphemisms aside there is a large portion of our society that simply doesn't want to work but instead want to sponge off of those willing to make personal sacrifices. There is a large portion of our society that should not be home purchasers. We are currently experiencing the resulting economic repercussions of irresponsible bums who are defaulting on home loans. We have always sustained those who defaulted after sudden calamity such as divorce or illness. I have no affinity for those who have destroyed large portions of equity in homes for those of us responsible enough to pay our bills because they chose not to pay for their homes. Coincidentally, many of those who refused to be responsible for repaying their loans are also now unemployed.
Those who do want to are working. Those who do want to be financially responsible are doing so. The market has finally adjusted to this lack of job demand and financial irresponsibility.
The demand of the mendicants does still remain high and the politicians are playing to that crowd. Ultimately they will lose and the lethargic who have no desire to be productive members of society will live on the fringes of survival. Such is what is now happening in Greece.
CNBC reports that there are 3.2 million unfilled job openings in the United States. The latest government figures show that the number of job openings in manufacturing rose from last year and the number of open construction jobs as of July is up 267% from July of last year. Yet Obama wants to further increase our national debt by implementing a jobs bill to create construction jobs at a cost to taxpayer's of about $250,000 per job.
The proletariat may postulate that the current high unemployment is the result of a result of lack of job opportunities and the need for government to create jobs. To the contrary it is a result of government action. Particularly paying people not to work. CNBC has also recently reported that many of the people receiving long-term unemployment compensation have stated that they are not planning to get a job as long as they can receive those taxpayer funded payments.
Another fabrication being promoted by politicians is the false premise that a lack of formal and expensive education has resulted in the high rate of unemployment. This push for more formal training/education is the antithesis of employment. The resources and money being expended on wasted education has resulted in less opportunity for consumers to distribute discretionary dollars to employers and for the employers to hire.
A nation full of trained monkeys will not lift us out of an economic abyss. People who have a desire to be educated and apply that knowledge are much more productive than trained automatons. "Self-education is the best there is" - Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer speaking on Steve Jobs lack of college education and his development of the world's most valuable company. This axiom is well-known and embedded into the minds of our best entrepreneurs but lost among the docile masses.
The high unemployment rate and the redistribution of labour demand will have a positive impact on our family structure. This must be considered the pinnacle benefit of this new employment paradigm.
One of the results of the pursuit of full employment for all adults, parents of children living with them in particular, has been the travesty of the systemic abuse of children being raised in institutional babysitting centers.
Higher unemployment places more parents in the home with their children. The loss of extra disposable income should, I emphasize should, lead to healthier home-cooked meals being prepared for the children. At least one parent will be available for providing necessary life-skills, education and nurturing that are some of the neglectful aspects of the institutional centers. A vestige of this once viable and successful family structure now rarely lives on outside the Hollywood reproductions but could see a resurgence based upon continued high unemployment.
Another positive is that the divorce rate has declined and should continue to decline under a high unemployment, single earner family structure. High unemployment has removed some of the profit incentive from divorce, especially since men have been affected by job loss in a significant and disproportionate way.
Ultimately it is the private sector, the free market that will have the greatest impact on employment. It is then incumbent upon the so-called workers to posses the skills and desire to work if employment is to increase. But as I have illustrated here, there are significant benefits to a smaller labour force and we should not see high unemployment as a bad thing.
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Make a suggestion for me to write about.
Parents who would like to achieve the best outcome for their children in a contested child custody case should visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me. Attorneys may request a free consultation to learn how I can maximize their advocacy for their clients.
Connect with me for the latest Indiana child custody related policy considerations, findings, court rulings and discussions.
