Why is child support treated like punishment instead of payment history?
I understand why child support enforcement exists. Children need support, and missed payments matter. But the way the system works sometimes feels like it only recognizes failure. Miss a payment, and there are consequences. Fall behind, and it can hurt your credit.
But pay consistently for years, even through automatic wage garnishment, and there’s usually no positive payment history attached to it. That feels outdated. If someone is doing the right thing every month, shouldn’t that count for something financially?
I’m curious if people would support a system where child support payments could create positive credit history instead of only showing up when things go wrong.