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> how brutally he is being raped by the alimony system What I don't understand is how we almost never hear of such people packing up and moving to some country

> how brutally he is being raped by the alimony system What I don't understand is how we almost never hear of such people packing up and moving to some country which is hostile to US interests, or simply has weak record-keeping and is thus friendly to those who want to leave their past behind. Are all such countries mournful hellholes to live in? Surely not. Seriously, if I were ever sentenced to the perpetual confiscation of over half of my income, I would run off - doesn't matter much where to. Perhaps the Somalian pirates - or North Korea - are hiring? I also recall once reading that France will not extradite a French citizen - perhaps you can become one? (They might still allow American debt collectors to find you, however. Does anyone know?) Seriously, just about any life is better than being a part-time slave, which is what such extortion amounts to.

seanc 17y ago
A) You're thinking of the Foreign Legion. Go look it up. A few years of military service and you're in. B) When you get married you're making a very serious promise to share everything and build a life together. The state provided default contract for a marriage is very clear about the separation terms up front. If you don't like them, then negotiate a pre-nup with your spouse. Good luck.
- asciilifeform 17y ago
  A) The Foreign Legion has much tighter regulations now, and is no longer suitable for its traditional purpose of providing new identities for those with something to run from. B) US courts routinely and capriciously invalidate pre-nups.
tjic 17y ago
> What I don't understand is how we almost never hear of such people packing up and moving to some country which is hostile to US interests http://roissy.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/hero/ http://roissy.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/hero/
- asciilifeform 17y ago
  What part of "don't come back and vacation in the country which screwed up your life" didn't this man understand?
  - tjic 17y ago
    The middle part. Also, the beginning and end.
o3p 17y ago
i'd throw acid in her face, then shoot myself in the head after explaining to the kid that mother has always been as ugly on the inside as she now is on the outside. the sheer unexpectedness of a reaction like that from someone like me would be brilliant, completely undermining peoples faith in their ability to "know another".
menloparkbum 17y ago
Guys who seriously consider moving to somalia or north korea to avoid alimony payments usually don't have to worry about getting married in the first place. It's hard to meet a spouse in your parents' basement.
- shiranaihito 17y ago
  I'm sure those two wouldn't be first on his list..
  - menloparkbum 17y ago
    well, they are the only two places he mentioned in his comment...
    - shiranaihito 17y ago
      Well, then, I guess the question is whether those two are the only places he could have mentioned (fitting his criteria of not being particularly friendly with the US).
      - asciilifeform 17y ago
        They are the two most absurdly obvious ones. Finding foreign havens which are of practical, rather than rhetorical use requires research: laws change, treaties are signed, armies invade, etc.
deleted 17y ago
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quellhorst 17y ago
I would argue that he is a full-time slave. Part of his time goes to pay for his previous marriage, the other part for taxes, and the final part to the banking system.
- HSO 17y ago
  Funny how the notion of simply paying back your debt becomes "enslavement" by the "banking system" in the minds of people these days. t's as ridiculous as a fat person blaming the food companies to make it easy to overeat. The author of the article is commendable for avoiding these loaded terms and blaming himself rather than circumstances or even other people. It's a trite phrase but still true that responsibility and prudence is the flipside of freedom and risk-taking.
  - asciilifeform 17y ago
    > Funny how the notion of simply paying back your debt becomes "enslavement" Yeah, let's bring back Victorian work-houses. I sincerely hope that you and your family end up in one.
  - quellhorst 17y ago
    Oh, but if you get a loan at 10% or 15% interest and are late on a different loan you can get a universal default where your rate is doubled to 20 or 30%. Also the credit card companies have successfully lobbied the government to make it harder for consumers to erase these debts with bankruptcy.
- jrockway 17y ago
  The difference is, except for taxes, he chose to make those decisions. Slaves did not choose to be slaves.
  - anshul 17y ago
    That difference is mostly irrelevant. Slavery entered into with consent is still slavery. The key part of slavery is not the path of entry, but the path of exit, in that you don't get to exit. There is very little functional difference between this guy and a bonded laborer from pre-independence India.

seanc 17y ago

A) You're thinking of the Foreign Legion. Go look it up. A few years of military service and you're in. B) When you get married you're making a very serious promise to share everything and build a life together. The state provided default contract for a marriage is very clear about the separation terms up front. If you don't like them, then negotiate a pre-nup with your spouse. Good luck.

asciilifeform 17y ago
A) The Foreign Legion has much tighter regulations now, and is no longer suitable for its traditional purpose of providing new identities for those with something to run from. B) US courts routinely and capriciously invalidate pre-nups.

tjic 17y ago

> What I don't understand is how we almost never hear of such people packing up and moving to some country which is hostile to US interests http://roissy.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/hero/ http://roissy.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/hero/

asciilifeform 17y ago
What part of "don't come back and vacation in the country which screwed up your life" didn't this man understand?
- tjic 17y ago
  The middle part. Also, the beginning and end.

o3p 17y ago

i'd throw acid in her face, then shoot myself in the head after explaining to the kid that mother has always been as ugly on the inside as she now is on the outside. the sheer unexpectedness of a reaction like that from someone like me would be brilliant, completely undermining peoples faith in their ability to "know another".

menloparkbum 17y ago

Guys who seriously consider moving to somalia or north korea to avoid alimony payments usually don't have to worry about getting married in the first place. It's hard to meet a spouse in your parents' basement.

shiranaihito 17y ago
I'm sure those two wouldn't be first on his list..
- menloparkbum 17y ago
  well, they are the only two places he mentioned in his comment...
  - shiranaihito 17y ago
    Well, then, I guess the question is whether those two are the only places he could have mentioned (fitting his criteria of not being particularly friendly with the US).
    - asciilifeform 17y ago
      They are the two most absurdly obvious ones. Finding foreign havens which are of practical, rather than rhetorical use requires research: laws change, treaties are signed, armies invade, etc.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]

quellhorst 17y ago

I would argue that he is a full-time slave. Part of his time goes to pay for his previous marriage, the other part for taxes, and the final part to the banking system.

HSO 17y ago
Funny how the notion of simply paying back your debt becomes "enslavement" by the "banking system" in the minds of people these days. t's as ridiculous as a fat person blaming the food companies to make it easy to overeat. The author of the article is commendable for avoiding these loaded terms and blaming himself rather than circumstances or even other people. It's a trite phrase but still true that responsibility and prudence is the flipside of freedom and risk-taking.
- asciilifeform 17y ago
  > Funny how the notion of simply paying back your debt becomes "enslavement" Yeah, let's bring back Victorian work-houses. I sincerely hope that you and your family end up in one.
- quellhorst 17y ago
  Oh, but if you get a loan at 10% or 15% interest and are late on a different loan you can get a universal default where your rate is doubled to 20 or 30%. Also the credit card companies have successfully lobbied the government to make it harder for consumers to erase these debts with bankruptcy.
jrockway 17y ago
The difference is, except for taxes, he chose to make those decisions. Slaves did not choose to be slaves.
- anshul 17y ago
  That difference is mostly irrelevant. Slavery entered into with consent is still slavery. The key part of slavery is not the path of entry, but the path of exit, in that you don't get to exit. There is very little functional difference between this guy and a bonded laborer from pre-independence India.