Statistics

As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or $9,380
per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.
In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL mean
amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of ONE
child.
The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion

Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up 61%.
NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34% of
the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29% of
the total amount due for 1999.

These statistics don't give a lot of information. For example, what does it
mean by "costs of raising a child"? At $9380 per year, a family with 4
children would have to make a minimum of $37520 per year just to support
the children, not including the adult's expenses. There are many families
in my area who make far less than that who are raising 4 children, and are
not even qualified for the government's free lunch program. So, until the
government lists exactly what expenses they consider in these statistics,
and how much each one costs, the stats are meaningless.

As for the "who-paid-what" info, I told you in another post that my husband
is in the "didn't pay it all" column because he has arrearages--even though
he pays every penny every year! Statistics are very often used for
deceptive purposes to satisfy government (and other) agendas.


"Fighting for kids" adf wrote in message
...
As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or
$9,380
per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.
In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL mean
amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of
ONE
child.
The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion

Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up
61%.
NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34% of
the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29%
of
the total amount due for 1999.

"Fighting for kids" adf wrote in message
...
As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or
$9,380
per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.

TJ - You posted this 2 weeks ago and never attempted to refute the facts
these numbers are for after tax spending. So once again, if the actual cost
of raising a child is $168,840 after taxes, and the average tax payer family
pays 28% Federal tax, 9% state tax, and 7.65% FICA/Medicare tax, the net
income required to raise one child is $305,040. And since the average
family has 1.6 children the net cost for the average family would be
$488,064. How can any family afford to have children if these numbers are
right?


In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL mean
amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of
ONE
child.

You are mixing net and gross income/CS numbers as if they are the same
thing.

The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion

Since mothers on welfare do not receive the CS paid to the state to
reimburse welfare payments, and state pass-throughs were eliminated in the
last Welfare Reform Act, a huge percentage of the difference between the $19
billion and $32.3 billion is not accounted for because the state receives
the money instead of the CP's who are surveyed. This is a serious flaw that
makes forming conclusions about how much CS is really received by mothers
suspect. Look at the note on page 1 of the report. It very clearly notes
that CS payments to TANF recipients are under reported.


Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up
61%.
NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34% of
the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29%
of
the total amount due for 1999.

You have made a serious error in what all the above means. The report you
have cited is based on a survey of CP's asking them about how much was
ordered and how much was RECEIVED. The assumption that means this report is
definitive about how much was PAID is erroneous. The flaws in this logic
are many. The NCP's weren't asked how much they paid, state welfare
reimbursements are ignored, orders not yet in full affect are included,
orders no longer in affect are included, CP's without formal court CS orders
have had their reported amount estimated and included, and orders for adult
children receiving college support are mixed in with the under 18 orders.

Sorry, BOB. Im not TJ. I just got this off some website that had
everything laid out as such. Not from a "report".

"Bob Whiteside" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Fighting for kids" adf wrote in message
...
As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or
$9,380
per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.

TJ - You posted this 2 weeks ago and never attempted to refute the facts
these numbers are for after tax spending. So once again, if the actual
cost
of raising a child is $168,840 after taxes, and the average tax payer
family
pays 28% Federal tax, 9% state tax, and 7.65% FICA/Medicare tax, the net
income required to raise one child is $305,040. And since the average
family has 1.6 children the net cost for the average family would be
$488,064. How can any family afford to have children if these numbers are
right?


In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL
mean
amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of
ONE
child.

You are mixing net and gross income/CS numbers as if they are the same
thing.

The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion

Since mothers on welfare do not receive the CS paid to the state to
reimburse welfare payments, and state pass-throughs were eliminated in the
last Welfare Reform Act, a huge percentage of the difference between the
$19
billion and $32.3 billion is not accounted for because the state receives
the money instead of the CP's who are surveyed. This is a serious flaw
that
makes forming conclusions about how much CS is really received by mothers

suspect. Look at the note on page 1 of the report. It very clearly notes
that CS payments to TANF recipients are under reported.


Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up
61%.
NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34%
of
the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29%
of
the total amount due for 1999.

You have made a serious error in what all the above means. The report you
have cited is based on a survey of CP's asking them about how much was
ordered and how much was RECEIVED. The assumption that means this report
is
definitive about how much was PAID is erroneous. The flaws in this logic
are many. The NCP's weren't asked how much they paid, state welfare
reimbursements are ignored, orders not yet in full affect are included,
orders no longer in affect are included, CP's without formal court CS
orders
have had their reported amount estimated and included, and orders for
adult
children receiving college support are mixed in with the under 18 orders.

That's the lifetime cost to the average family per child till 18.

Bob Whiteside wrote:
"Fighting for kids" adf wrote in message
...

As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or

$9,380

per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.


TJ - You posted this 2 weeks ago and never attempted to refute the facts
these numbers are for after tax spending. So once again, if the actual cost
of raising a child is $168,840 after taxes, and the average tax payer family
pays 28% Federal tax, 9% state tax, and 7.65% FICA/Medicare tax, the net
income required to raise one child is $305,040. And since the average
family has 1.6 children the net cost for the average family would be
$488,064. How can any family afford to have children if these numbers are
right?



In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL mean
amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of

ONE

child.


You are mixing net and gross income/CS numbers as if they are the same
thing.


The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion


Since mothers on welfare do not receive the CS paid to the state to
reimburse welfare payments, and state pass-throughs were eliminated in the
last Welfare Reform Act, a huge percentage of the difference between the $19
billion and $32.3 billion is not accounted for because the state receives
the money instead of the CP's who are surveyed. This is a serious flaw that
makes forming conclusions about how much CS is really received by mothers
suspect. Look at the note on page 1 of the report. It very clearly notes
that CS payments to TANF recipients are under reported.


Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up

61%.

NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34% of
the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29%

of

the total amount due for 1999.


You have made a serious error in what all the above means. The report you
have cited is based on a survey of CP's asking them about how much was
ordered and how much was RECEIVED. The assumption that means this report is
definitive about how much was PAID is erroneous. The flaws in this logic
are many. The NCP's weren't asked how much they paid, state welfare
reimbursements are ignored, orders not yet in full affect are included,
orders no longer in affect are included, CP's without formal court CS orders
have had their reported amount estimated and included, and orders for adult
children receiving college support are mixed in with the under 18 orders.

"Virginia" wrote in message
news
That's the lifetime cost to the average family per child till 18.

You are correct with one caveate. These are the estimated lifetime
expenditures on children for the lowest income group reported in the
Expenditures on Children by Families annual report. The 2001 report shows
the lowest income families earn less than $39,100 and their average income
is $24,400. The 2001 lifetime cost for one child born to the lowest income
families is estimated to be $169,920 for this income group. How can a
family averaging $24,400 gross income per year before taxes afford to have
even one child? Using the government's numbers, a child born in 2001 will
cost $6,490 net for that year. Even assuming the average family pays no
federal or state income taxes, they will net $22,533 after FICA/Medicare,
which means one child will cost them 28.8% of their net income.

Projected out at the same 3.4% inflation rate used for the child's expenses,
that same fanily family will earn $43,076 in 2018. After FICA/Medicare only
that family will have a net income of $39,780. The government says the same
child will cost $13,210 in 2018 which means the family will spend 33.2% of
their net income on the child. (Of course, the percentages of net spent to
raise a child goes up if a family pays any income taxes.)

And these calcualtions don't even factor in the average family has 1.6
children, which means the percentage of family net income needed to raise
1.6 children is well over 50% of net income, and even higher when income
taxes are paid, or that .6 child is really factored in as 1 whole second
child in a family. These numbers suggest either the government has
over-inflated the cost of raising a child for political purposes, or
families need to stop having children because they are way too expensive to
raise.


Bob Whiteside wrote:
"Fighting for kids" adf wrote in message
...

As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or

$9,380

per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.


TJ - You posted this 2 weeks ago and never attempted to refute the facts
these numbers are for after tax spending. So once again, if the actual
cost
of raising a child is $168,840 after taxes, and the average tax payer
family
pays 28% Federal tax, 9% state tax, and 7.65% FICA/Medicare tax, the net
income required to raise one child is $305,040. And since the average
family has 1.6 children the net cost for the average family would be
$488,064. How can any family afford to have children if these numbers
are
right?



In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL
mean
amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of

ONE

child.


You are mixing net and gross income/CS numbers as if they are the same
thing.


The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion


Since mothers on welfare do not receive the CS paid to the state to
reimburse welfare payments, and state pass-throughs were eliminated in
the
last Welfare Reform Act, a huge percentage of the difference between the
$19
billion and $32.3 billion is not accounted for because the state
receives
the money instead of the CP's who are surveyed. This is a serious flaw
that
makes forming conclusions about how much CS is really received by
mothers
suspect. Look at the note on page 1 of the report. It very clearly
notes
that CS payments to TANF recipients are under reported.


Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up

61%.

NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34%
of
the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29%

of

the total amount due for 1999.


You have made a serious error in what all the above means. The report
you
have cited is based on a survey of CP's asking them about how much was
ordered and how much was RECEIVED. The assumption that means this
report is
definitive about how much was PAID is erroneous. The flaws in this
logic
are many. The NCP's weren't asked how much they paid, state welfare
reimbursements are ignored, orders not yet in full affect are included,
orders no longer in affect are included, CP's without formal court CS
orders
have had their reported amount estimated and included, and orders for
adult
children receiving college support are mixed in with the under 18
orders.

And of course they don't account for that which other family members
provide etc of that amount. Both sets of our parents spend about 1/3 of
what we do on the girls as well, so in essence we only pay 3/5-3/4 of
the amount the gov't thinks we are solely responsible for spending.
then there's Christmas Hanukkah etc, in which we spend less than our
relatives by hitting sales and clearence racks all year and storring for
holidays.

Mostly I think that alot of money from tax credits, social services
assistance etc doesn't get counted as income.

we don't spend anywere near $6,500 a year apiece for our girls and we
homeschool so I think it's all relative to the thriftiness and location
of the parents.

Oh yeah with the average person's credit card debt it is possible that
people are spending more than they make.

Bob Whiteside wrote:
"Virginia" wrote in message
news
That's the lifetime cost to the average family per child till 18.


You are correct with one caveate. These are the estimated lifetime
expenditures on children for the lowest income group reported in the
Expenditures on Children by Families annual report. The 2001 report shows
the lowest income families earn less than $39,100 and their average income
is $24,400. The 2001 lifetime cost for one child born to the lowest income
families is estimated to be $169,920 for this income group. How can a
family averaging $24,400 gross income per year before taxes afford to have
even one child? Using the government's numbers, a child born in 2001 will
cost $6,490 net for that year. Even assuming the average family pays no
federal or state income taxes, they will net $22,533 after FICA/Medicare,
which means one child will cost them 28.8% of their net income.

Projected out at the same 3.4% inflation rate used for the child's expenses,
that same fanily family will earn $43,076 in 2018. After FICA/Medicare only
that family will have a net income of $39,780. The government says the same
child will cost $13,210 in 2018 which means the family will spend 33.2% of
their net income on the child. (Of course, the percentages of net spent to
raise a child goes up if a family pays any income taxes.)

And these calcualtions don't even factor in the average family has 1.6
children, which means the percentage of family net income needed to raise
1.6 children is well over 50% of net income, and even higher when income
taxes are paid, or that .6 child is really factored in as 1 whole second
child in a family. These numbers suggest either the government has
over-inflated the cost of raising a child for political purposes, or
families need to stop having children because they are way too expensive to
raise.


Bob Whiteside wrote:

"Fighting for kids" adf wrote in message
...


As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or

$9,380


per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.


TJ - You posted this 2 weeks ago and never attempted to refute the facts
these numbers are for after tax spending. So once again, if the actual

cost

of raising a child is $168,840 after taxes, and the average tax payer

family

pays 28% Federal tax, 9% state tax, and 7.65% FICA/Medicare tax, the net
income required to raise one child is $305,040. And since the average
family has 1.6 children the net cost for the average family would be
$488,064. How can any family afford to have children if these numbers

are

right?




In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL

mean

amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of

ONE


child.


You are mixing net and gross income/CS numbers as if they are the same
thing.



The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion


Since mothers on welfare do not receive the CS paid to the state to
reimburse welfare payments, and state pass-throughs were eliminated in

the

last Welfare Reform Act, a huge percentage of the difference between the

$19

billion and $32.3 billion is not accounted for because the state

receives

the money instead of the CP's who are surveyed. This is a serious flaw

that

makes forming conclusions about how much CS is really received by

mothers

suspect. Look at the note on page 1 of the report. It very clearly

notes

that CS payments to TANF recipients are under reported.



Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up

61%.


NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34%

of

the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29%

of


the total amount due for 1999.


You have made a serious error in what all the above means. The report

you

have cited is based on a survey of CP's asking them about how much was
ordered and how much was RECEIVED. The assumption that means this

report is

definitive about how much was PAID is erroneous. The flaws in this

logic

are many. The NCP's weren't asked how much they paid, state welfare
reimbursements are ignored, orders not yet in full affect are included,
orders no longer in affect are included, CP's without formal court CS

orders

have had their reported amount estimated and included, and orders for

adult

children receiving college support are mixed in with the under 18

orders.

"Virginia" wrote in message
t...
And of course they don't account for that which other family members
provide etc of that amount. Both sets of our parents spend about 1/3 of
what we do on the girls as well, so in essence we only pay 3/5-3/4 of
the amount the gov't thinks we are solely responsible for spending.
then there's Christmas Hanukkah etc, in which we spend less than our
relatives by hitting sales and clearence racks all year and storring for
holidays.

Mostly I think that alot of money from tax credits, social services
assistance etc doesn't get counted as income.

we don't spend anywere near $6,500 a year apiece for our girls and we
homeschool so I think it's all relative to the thriftiness and location
of the parents.

Oh yeah with the average person's credit card debt it is possible that
people are spending more than they make.

I didn't want to throw too many numbers into my prior post, but since you
mentioned two children I'll relate the report's number of children and age
methodology. The numbers are all based on two children. So for instance, a
family with two children in the lowest income group would spend $6,490 for
the youngest child under 2 and another $6,630 for a 3-5 year-old, or a total
of $13,120.

When there is only one child the number for the child's age group is
multiplied by a factor of 1.24. So a 4 year-old only child would have an
average of $6,630 times 1.24, or $8,221 spent on them.

A factor of .77 is used for families with 3 or more children, and is applied
against each age group expenditure estimate and then the expenditures per
child are added together. This takes into account some shared expenditures,
more hand-me-downs, etc.

We so don't spend 13.120 on our girls each year. Not even close. And
they have museum and zoo memberships etc.

Bob Whiteside wrote:
"Virginia" wrote in message
t...


I didn't want to throw too many numbers into my prior post, but since you
mentioned two children I'll relate the report's number of children and age
methodology. The numbers are all based on two children. So for instance, a
family with two children in the lowest income group would spend $6,490 for
the youngest child under 2 and another $6,630 for a 3-5 year-old, or a total
of $13,120.

When there is only one child the number for the child's age group is
multiplied by a factor of 1.24. So a 4 year-old only child would have an
average of $6,630 times 1.24, or $8,221 spent on them.

A factor of .77 is used for families with 3 or more children, and is applied
against each age group expenditure estimate and then the expenditures per
child are added together. This takes into account some shared expenditures,
more hand-me-downs, etc.

Is this that same ass we "ran off" last week? This ****'s getting
tiresome...

Mel Gamble

Fighting for kids wrote:

As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a
child without daycare and educational costs included is $168,840, or $9,380
per year, or $781.67 per month, or $25.70 per day.
In comparison the mean support order for a family (note: family not per
child) was only $4,755, or 51% of the cost of ONE child. The ACTUAL mean
amount of child support collected was only $2,791, or 60% of the cost of ONE
child.
The Actual Amount of Child Support Ordered: $32.3 Billion
The Actual Amount of Child Support Received: $19 Billion

Total amount of custodial parents with legal child support awards:
6,791,000
Received FULL payment: 3,066,000 or 45%
Received Partial Payment: 1,939,000 or 29%
Received NO payment: 1,786,000 or 26%
Total of NCP's that paid something: 5,005,000

Of those who made payments, NCP's that paid the Full amount due made up 61%.
NCP's who made partial payments made up 49% of those who paid in.

NCP's that paid the FULL amount paid a total of $11.59 Billion, or 34% of
the total amount due for 1999.
NCP's that paid a PARTIAL amount paid in a total of 9.31 Billion, or 29% of
the total amount due for 1999.