As others have said already, it’s not as simple as that. When I had my son, we were doing well and I had no notion that my marriage was going to end in a nasty, financially destructive divorce. Paraphrasing Clark Gable, frankly, the courts don’t give a damn. They impose a child support obligation based on your income history, regardless of the fact that your disposable income shrinks dramatically by virtue of having 2 households and an ex who is not exactly trying to be frugal with expenses she/he can impose on you. On top of that, it is not unusual, as happened in my case, that divorce was not a career enhancer: my earnings actually declined significantly because of all the added stress of the situation, including the demands of maintaining a strong relationship with my son under the constraints of “visitation”. Again, the courts generally don’t give a damn, while paying lip service to the idea that you might get a reduction in the child support based on “changed circumstances”. Most judges will only give a reduction if your reduced income is the result of some catastrophic event, such as a disabling injury.
Yes, there are folks who simply have kids without a clue about supporting them, but for a lot of parents in divorce that is just not the case.
Ah, you bring up “imputed income”.
HAHAHA! Sucks, don’t it?
For the lurker, that is why an unemployed vice president pays more child support than an employed tow truck driver.