[erik998]

I don't think marriage is bad per se, but the courts are being used to criminalize people for not paying debts which I don't agree with. Maybe posting some deposit reflecting the average cost of a divorce prior to getting a marriage license would be sufficient to prove their commitment... Maybe return such a deposit after 10 years of marriage... If they get divorced before the refund is issued use those funds to pay for divorce...

I don't think it's right to encourage people to get married and apply a low bar for such a commitment. However when they want a divorce it's not as easy.

Child support is a different matter though. Criminalizing people for not paying does no one any good. It pushes people to work for cash paying jobs and just hides the problem. Criminalizing it just forces everyone in the situation into a poverty trap. It causes the parent being pursued for child support to resent the other parent or child.

http://www.postandcourier.com/archives/cost-is-high-to-jail-...

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/why-people-get-sentenced-...