The woman's perspective on the new alimony law in Massachusetts

ignatiusloyola · 2012-03-09T19:19:16+00:00

Marriage doesn't last forever anymore. Heaven forbid a person be expected to be self sufficient.

zyk0s · 2012-03-09T22:27:46+00:00

This reads a bit like "why the abolition of slavery is bad for southern landowners".

TracyMorganFreeman · 2012-03-09T20:52:06+00:00

human relationships should not be subjected to mechanical valuation systems

By that logic alimony shouldn't exist at all.

Doctor_Loggins · 2012-03-09T19:13:27+00:00

Compare this mensrights perspective with this woman's perspective.

Doctor_Loggins · 2012-03-09T21:16:21+00:00

Instead, the new law dictates that a woman's value is based solely on the length of time she spent enabling her husband to earn a certain income while she cooked, met with teachers and took the kids to soccer practice.

This part is particularly charming. We're all enlightened, 21^st-century people who don't expect women to sit around on their hands at home while the man brings home the bread... until the time comes to collect alimony, in which case we're reverting to stereotypes that were old in the 1960s. She refers several times to women who make the choice to stay home and mind the children like it's some kind of divine mandate. If you don't want to stay at home and forsake your career, DON'T. You have the ability, and the financial capacity, to co out and work and hire a caretaker for your children. At this point, in this country, staying home to take care of children is not a necessity. It is a choice. And like all choices, it has consequences.

TheRealPariah · 2012-03-09T21:30:34+00:00

They (not all women, but those in the article) want their cake and to eat it to. We all know.

2012-03-09T19:19:54+00:00

[permanently deleted]

NiceGuysSTFU · 2012-03-09T20:02:56+00:00

Later in the article she brings up some valid points, but she seems rather dismissive of the law without really going into the nuts and bolts. I mean, should someone who marries as a teen and gets divorced a year or two later really have to pay alimony whatsoever, if there were no children?

MartialWay · 2012-03-09T23:05:02+00:00

I can see the logic of Alimony for years even. Women often get married and change their expectations accordingly. Men are more likely to be better off after a divorce as they have worked on their career, assumedly, and the woman should have some time to adjust her lifestyle, get situated into a job, and even begin building something.

Should this be the man's responsibility? No, I don't think so. I think it should be the states responsibility. But I doubt that's practical. But, it's more wrong to leave someone out to dry, than it is to pay part of a paycheck to better that person's life.

It definitely shouldn't be indefinite. I like this law. Maybe it should be a little more extreme. It's a good first step. To me it seems pretty anti-woman to say that women shouldn't be expected to take care of themselves.

Doctor_Loggins · 2012-03-10T00:00:58+00:00

how many years the couple stayed married and how much money the working spouse made during the marriage. And it won't last a lifetime. If a marriage lasted 15 years, a woman will receive alimony, at most, for only 10½ years.

This is still troubling. This encourages families to break up sooner, rather than later. Think of the mentally abused husband who wants out, but suffers in the marriage for another 10 years until the kids graduate high school. Not only does he endure another 10 years of suffering, but then he's got to pay more to his abuser upon divorce. He'd be better off financially to say "screw the kids" and leave when they're young. I'm not sure why the government would want to encourage that.

Title	The woman's perspective on the new alimony law in Massachusetts
Author	Doctor_Loggins
Upvotes	6
Comments	26
Date	March 9, 2012 7:12 PM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/qp8nu/the_womans_perspective_on_the_new_alimony_law_in/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/the-womans-perspective-on-the-new-alimony-law-in.1026301 https://theredarchive.com/post/1026301

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