European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes a Page 11letters far Ann Landers you Are sure to get a ton of tiers As a result of the column which a Reader wrote a some inc is wrong with the divorce i in Massachusetts when a Oman tells the judge that her ouse was a a Good husband and a Here admits to infidelity and ill sets custody of the child ownership of the House and a Nerous portion of her Hus and a  what a More that adulterous wife who made $1,000 a month More than e child a father was awarded by the court almost one-,.ird of his salary. I Well Ann something is also wrong in Colorado Hen a husband pleads guilty to a third degree assault my comes out with sole custody of a 3-year-old Daugh a furthermore the Mother must pay child support in though the father makes three times As much As he does. Meanwhile her husbands record of violence i erased because he took a course on parenting. This is a perfect example of our great Legal system at 0rk, thanks to All those High priced lawyers and does who have no  How difficult it is to be a Nile Parent in today a world. What we really need in is More females on the Bench. A a . . You re right. I did get a ton of mail mostly from men a planning about what a Rotten Deal they got in court. Ead on rom Chicago. My wife was a Phi Beta Kappa. She had a b.a., and fll.a., an . And had been earning $100,000 a fear. We decided to split after 27 months. Our child Quot was 6 months old the judge said she did no to have to go Back to work and gave her the House and everything Ghat i had accumulated after working for 21 years. I fiust give her 60 percent of my income and am now having trouble with visitation rights. Your correspondent who said divorced women end up poorer is a few flicks Short of a full Load. From Jacksonville Fla i sympathize with your Massachusetts Reader whose paycheck had been carved up in divorce court by an adulterous wife. I have worked for 20 years As a Legal Secretary Aid seen Many similar cases of unequal Justice. The Origi Al intent of Alimony and child support was to prevent the Mother and child from becoming a financial Burden on society. Today i feel that any woman under the age of 50 who can walk out of a divorce court on her own two feet should be Able to work and support herself. Child support be honorable and decent. Alimony is an obscene rip off find should be abolished. From Cleveland 1 divorce in Massachusetts cannot be worse than in Hio. I have been around the track twice and was picked Ean both times. Anyone who thinks the divorce Laws Vor women should take a look at what we have to Deal Ith in this state. I am moving to Minnesota just in Case i let married again and it does no to work out. Rom Virginia sorry about the Man in Massachusetts who was after but there Are plenty of incompetent and nutty to Zwyers in our state too. My husband was married before and had two children. He came Home from his cond Job his wife refused to work and found every my gone a i mean wife kids furniture microwave and Washer dryer. He was still paying on some of the in chances she then filed for divorce and asked for fluid support. Out of the a goodness of her heart she permits him to see his children two Days a  creators Syndicate a suggestions for avoiding budget crunch the Tang it Pes european edition col. Gene e. Townsend Usan commander editor in chief it. Col. Suzanne a Phillips Usan Deputy commander editor in chief Marie Kominicki Mert Proctor Deane b. Mcdermott or auction manager managing editor circulation manager  is an authorized unofficial publication for members of Narni lady splices overseas. Contents of the stars and stripes Are not a a any a official views of or endorsed by the . Government the apartment of defense or the . European command. Sunntom33??nc0 of advertising in this publication including inserts or Vaivso Otto o not constitute endorsement by the department of de or i be stars and stripes of the products or services advertised. Durrall Elln advertised in this publication shall be made available for National use or patronage without regard to race color religion sex and ?ri9ln a90. Marital status physical Handicap political affiliation or y  non Merit Factor of the purchaser user or Patron.  main office Patch Board 06155-6010. Ets 348-5741 or 5823. Extensio8n3artrnen,s�?T dial 55-601 plus Extension or ets 348-8 plus the because of the rapid changes the military is about to undergo i wish to give a Quick economics and recent history lesson so that the readers May better understand the reasons and forces that will be shaping their lives. I also wish to provide a suggestion so that the hard working soldiers Are not victimized by the inevitable cutbacks that Are about to occur. The Field of economics has a term called a Opportunity  in a nutshell this term refers to the fact that life is full of Trade offs. For example my family needs a new car. Based upon our needs and wants we determine there Are two cars that would fit our desires and budget. One car is More expensive but More luxurious than the other. Lets also say our family wants to take a monthlong vacation while we Are Here overseas As we know we will never be Able to afford that Type of vacation when we get Back to the states. However we cannot afford the expensive luxurious car and the vacation our Opportunity Cost is the foregone vacation or the foregone extra luxury in the car. Our hypothetical decision involves a Trade off i.e., a we can to have our cake and eat it  we All make these types of Trade offs everyday. It is the underlying principle of not Only capitalism but probably life itself. This fundamental principle applies to our government and More specifically to us members of the department of defense. Dod has always had an Opportunity Cost to contend with but during the �?T80s it was pretty much Able to ignore any of the harder decisions through the use of debt i.e., the huge $3 trillion government debt. Now i am not going to go into the politics or explain How most of the debt is related to the military a spending practices during the �?T80s, because even if the reason for Why it happened is disagreed with the results from such a Large amount of debt will not be affected the huge deficit and recent european events have allowed those of us without a . In government studies to know that the Dod budget will decline in the coming years. The major reason however is the deficit and not the fall of the Berlin Wall. All the fall of the Wall did was hasten a downward spending trend that had begun in 1986. In the Early �?T80s, rapid growth of the Dod budget was unsustainable and spending had begun to fall. It was when the budget started to fall that Opportunity Cost began to play a greater part. Dod through debt and a rapidly rising budget has been Able to put off the dreaded Opportunity Cost but not escape it. In fact it is the past avoidance of Opportunity Cost that will make the present choices All the harder. Many of you who have had financial problems can identify with the terrible choices that come after your spending Binge. The same effect will come into play with Dod. What i do not wish to see however is the Many valuable talented service members and their families pay the Price for past mismanagement. Here is what you can do to help your situation. A accept that the Dod budget will decline quickly As it is inevitable and there is nothing to be done about it. A understand the Opportunity Cost going on your jobs is. Gold plated gizmos. You All know the military Mission and threat better than just about any civilian so you Are the experts. Do we need a measly 70 b-2 bombers a plane that has yet to be tested under Public scrutiny to see if it will truly do its Mission or Star wars which Over 90 percent of the scientists engineers and mathematicians have said will not work As advertised. If you need to put these items into perspective remember that it costs Dod $15,639.37 for the a average soldiers according to the a statistical abstract of the United states 1989�?� Chart #543. So if you want to see How much the 5 b-2s Cost in a a soldiers jobs lost a All you have to do is take the amount that was budgeted in 1990 of Over $5,000,000,000 for five planes and Divide by $15,639.37 for the a average Soldier Cost and you will find that those 5 b-2s will Cost about 319,706 soldiers their jobs. Now i know this is not totally accurate but it docs help provide a measure of comprehensibility to what these items will truly Cost. Because if they Are bought then the Money will come out of the Dod personnel account which is what provides for your jobs a we need to begin to phase local nationals los out of our civil service. Most of these los arc there at the expense of qualified american spouses. For example in our Community More than 90 percent of the jobs Are allocated to los. In addition most of the in workers Cost much More than the american workers. Since these jobs Are fully funded by the american taxpayer they Are not Only a larger direct Drain upon our scarce funds than need to be but every Dollar paid to an in is directly responsible for our balance of Trade deficit if you do nothing and Are forcibly removed you will have no one to blame but yourself we need to protect ourselves during this coming crunch. We did not cause it nor Are we getting wealthy because of it. We Are however a vital part of whatever defense needs our country will require. We just need to remind our elected officials of that fact a name and location withheld army is congratulated on its birthday it is a great Honor and pleasure to extend Best wishes to the soldiers and their families on the 215th anniversary of the United states army today. For Over 200 years our army has served our country with dedication Devotion and distinction. The principles of individual Freedom and Independence were fought for and won by our Brave and dedicated soldiers in the revolutionary War. Since that time the achievements of our army As shown by the numerous Campaign streamers attached to the army Flag leave no doubt that our commitment to democratic ideals and principles will continue to be As Strong As before. In today a Uncertain world your service and the support of All units of the total army including civilian and family members Are important factors in keeping the peace. In meeting this Challenge you Are also engaged in pursuing a course of excellence in All of the army goals. That Devotion and dedication is deeply reflected in the enhanced esteem of our people for the skilled Soldier in today a Volunteer army. I am proud to say that our family has been a part of this great army since 1911. Or. Cabulong Heidelberg West Germany news ext. 237, 255, 282, 226, 326. Sports ext. 225, 269, 263, 332, 321, 221. Features ext. 230, 245 or 341. Letters to editor ext. 208. Education Jimi Jones ext. 226. Medicine Janet d Agostino. Ext. 230. Business Randy Mcclain ext. 326. Advertising display ext. 247 or 309. Classified ext. 349. Telex 419-332. Tel fax 06155-601376. Mailing address Apo 09211-4211 or Postrach 11 14 37, d-6100 Darmstadt 11, West Germany. News bureaus Bremerhaven Germany Ken Clauson building 103, Carl Schurz Cavern Apo 09069 Telephone ets 342-8659 or civilian 0471-88782. 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