I agree with 90% of your post, but I don't believe giving judges even more power is the answer.  The problem with that is every judge will do it differently depending on what color shirt you have on or what he/she ate for breakfast.  Instead I think there should be a "guideline" and there should be calculated adjustments to those depending on certain factors.  Nothing is perfect, but I completely agree that the required child support amounts right now are driving dads to live in a cheap apartment and work 3 jobs, which leaves no time for family.  Things need to change and dad should be considered in the equation just as much as mom.

Just FYI, both mom and dad's incomes are included in the calculation of child support.  But, I challenge you to demonstrate which income has the most impact.  Mom can make $5,000 or $50,000 and it will usually make about 10% difference in support.  If dad's income increases from $5,000 to $50,000 support may increase by about 5x.

KTM, I simply use those terms because 80% of child support payors are fathers.  I'll have to dig up that statistic again.  It is not nearly as common for a mother to pay child support because she usually has custody and/or makes less.  Also most of the people who take issue with child support and the amount thereof are fathers.  Over 90% of the child support complaints I've heard from women target child support enforcement, not the child support guidelines themselves.  Women who complain they don't receive enough money usually preface that by stating how their ex husband keeps changing jobs so they can't take all his money or he keeps moving, etc...  So, I didn't really mean anything by using those terms other than most of the time we are talking about father paying child support to a mother so it's just easier to put it in those terms.

I know this is an old post but after reading it I wanted to ramble.

I completely agree with KCDAD.  I pay almost $900 between child support and insurance for ONE child based on my income of 43k.  One quarter of my GROSS salary is child support related.  I live very modestly.  I have no choice.  I work 50 hours a week with another 7-10 hours just in commuting time.  I've held one job for the entire life of the child I have.  The mother, who is now on her 3rd child with a third dad, has had multiple part time jobs and can afford to take a trip to California and I can't take a trip out of town.  I'm tired of being held to some higher standard when they treat the father as some kind of 3rd class citizen from the start. 

I'm responsible for paying child support.  Whether I want to or not is irrelevant.  But the amount I pay buckles me.  I can't afford to put money back.  I'll never get into a house now.  I have a roommate, a modest car payment, cell phone, car insurance, & gas is all I can pay.  School loans, forget it.  I'm currently looking for a 2nd job but for what?  So I can further bust my butt while the mother doesn't have to keep a job.  So a fraction of that money comes to me for my extra effort?  So she can get more money on top of the $900 I pay? 

I don't care what the guidelines say or if the mother and father are classed in vague terms.  The reality the Kansas system is biased towards the mother and it is unfair. 

I live in another state now and I have a friend who just split from her boyfriend.  Never married but had a child together.  He makes $240k, she makes in the low 40's.  He was ordered to pay about $100 more than I was.  Yes I know it's another state and states vary but that's is absurd.