Humiliate the Bastards

Here's a great idea that should be mandatory in every county in the nation.

For the fifth time, the Jefferson County attorney's office will publish a list of people delinquent in child-support payments in Sunday's Courier-Journal.

In addition to the $25,000 advertisement including 560 parents who have not made a payment in at least six months, the office will run another 693 names online – for a total of 1,253 people – owing more than $45 million.

The names online include people who individually owe more than $45,000.

County Attorney Mike O'Connell said on Wednesday that more than $4.4 million has been collected through the effort in the previous four years, from men and women.

“The phones in our office start ringing the following Monday,” he said of the ad. “It’s been successful for a lot of custodial parents.”

Child support deadbeats aggravate child poverty and all of its related consequences. Child support deadbeats make every non-custodial parent an object of derision and scorn. Child support deadbeats cost taxpayers millions in enforcement and welfare to custodial families.

Yes, some deadbeats miss payments because they're unemployed. All the more reason to publicize their situation and magnify the call for unemployment benefits and massive federal jobs programs.