[echelon]

Why should you be forced by the state to pay your ex that is no longer a part of your life?

It's a form of indentured servitude, sometimes granted to someone that you hate or that hates you.

[Thlom]

It makes sense if your ex stayed out of the workplace during your relationship to take care of children and the home.

[gremloni]

Well then now that you’re divorced you need to go find a job. Sure it may not pay as well as it might have but you had the pleasure of staying at home and spending time with the kids. Why is the working person the only one punished in this situation?

[echelon]

And if there are no children and both partners work?

[crooked-v]

Alimony is useful in a context where wages are sufficient for one parent to stay at home full-time. Part of the reason it seems so out of place today is that as a society we've let average wages stagnate so far that living on one wage is impossible for most couples.