
According to court documents filed in the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department, Jackson won't be allowed to drive again until the child support is paid in full.
Back in September, Jackson told the courts that he can no longer afford to pay $3,000 per month in child support for his two sons, Jaafar and Jermajesty. He has asked the judge to cut his payments down to $215 per month, arguing that his ex-wife makes more money than he does.
Currently, Jackson lives with his mother, rent free. He married Alejandra in 1995 and divorced her in 2004.
I am certainly the first to challenge the draconian nature of child support laws in America. Non-custodial parents who can't afford to come up with money every month risk being sent to jail or being publicly humiliated. I am an 18-year veteran of the child support system, and found myself consistently frustrated with the magnitude of my payments, as well as the lack of accountability regarding where the money was going every month. Additionally, the child support courts don't put nearly as much energy into keeping families together as they put into collecting money you may not have.
But when it comes to the case of Jermaine Jackson, there appears to be a serious problem. First, the mere comedy of a 55-year old man living with his mother rent free is incomprehensible. One would hope that his family would demand that he grow up at some point. Secondly, $215 per month is the amount of child support I paid when I was a 20-year old college student earning minimum wage on a part-time job. Oh yeah, that was just for one child, not two, and that was nearly 20 years ago, when the cost of living was a little more than half of what it is today. I also lived in Kentucky, where the cost of living is much lower than it is in California, where Jackson resides. Doesn't Jermaine Jackson belong to one of the richest and most powerful entertainment families in the history of the world? I'm just asking.
Finally, there is the broader lesson about having children for whom we cannot afford to provide. While I'm sure Jackson took great pride in giving his children creative names like Jermajesty, audaciously implying that they are the sons of royalty, one would hope that he would realize that being a true king means making a sincere effort to provide for your family. Jackson arguing that he should pay a ridiculously low amount of child support just because their mother earns more than he does makes him look that much more pathetic. The amount of money he's proposing can't even cover half the food they eat every month.
It almost seems that, like so many other entertainers and athletes across America, Jermaine Jackson has trapped his mind in perpetual childhood. He seems to exist in a world where a man can live with his mama until retirement, spending all of his time hanging out in the studio waiting for his next big break. Jackson is not alone in this mentality, for there are hundreds of thousands of other former ballers, singers, dancers and actors living with an unfulfilled entertainment dream, refusing to wake up to the realities of adulthood. It's ironic that one of Jermaine Jackson's greatest hits was a song called "Let's Get Serious." When I read this story about a 55-year old man from an entertainment family that's earned hundreds of millions of dollars living with his mama and trying to pay just $215 per month in child support for two children, I want to write a song called "Are You Serious?" Perhaps it's time for Jermaine to get serious and start taking care of his kids.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (34)
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By: sand1015 on 12/04/2010 3:03PM
Jermaine has a sense of entitlement. He,his brother Randy,the baby momma they share and their horde of kids, has been living off the Michael Jackson Welfare and Foster Care Program,forever. This is why I thought it was a complete joke that they are co-spokespersons for Children Uniting Nations. Children Uniting Nations, a non profit organization, helps teens once they become 18 years old and leave foster care tranistion into the rest of society.
There are a lot of children in foster care, due to selfish minded parents.
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By: Bonebag on 12/04/2010 7:16PM
That is the biggest lie ever perpetrated by Michael Jackson Fans. these poor bpys have been paying off all of Michael's Child molestation charges. ( not to mention paying back money Michael borrowed).
Jermaine is still paying back over 8.5 million that Michael borrowed from some Arab Dude! Michael Jackson fans just want to tell that lie!
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By: kiki on 12/04/2010 4:24PM
Ok Jermaine, "Don't take it personal" (I could not resist) GET A JOB! I am not sure how much one should expect from a man who married his brother's wife, the mother of his brother's children! It is just sad, Katherine needs to start cleaning house!
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By: Debb on 12/06/2010 12:44PM
Katherine does need to start cleaning house. She needs to get the grown useless bastard out of there along with the ex-wife and kids. However the reporter says that the family should pay his child support.....Hello, the family did not make his kids, family should not be held responsible. I think he and his brother should work something out about those kids.
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By: rasfanta on 12/04/2010 8:08PM
This is BS. Jermaine does not live at katherine's house. he is married to a arab woman and i am sure they live in their own home both here and in the middle east. in fact, i wonder if he introduced janet to her arab boyfried. anybody got that scoop? he is a low life, in my mind, for not taking care of his children. screw him.
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By: Bonebag on 12/05/2010 8:37PM
You are under the mistaken notion that Halima's money is Jermaine's money! It is not! I am quite sure that was settled in the prenuptiuals aggrement! c'mon folks: get real! Jermaine is not the first kept man you have met: He's the mirror image of a lot of girls I have met. If I call Jermaine a low life, I have to call these girls.......
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By: Jones on 12/04/2010 11:33PM
Does anyone remember the reality show on A&E with the Jacksons? Jermaine and his wife were shown in a very nice home...and if he is so broke...how did he manage to scoop up his present wife. I don't think that Jermaine I think he is choosing not to pay child support for whatever reason.
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By: Bonebag on 12/05/2010 8:21PM
Correction: She scooped him up! Apparently while he was converting to Islam, a wealthy lady eyed him and thought he'd make a good ornament. He is what is uncommonly called a "trophy husband!" The mother of his children saw her and and her bank account and well she assumed like the rest of us!
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By: Anonymous on 12/05/2010 1:19AM
I am so tired of men complaining and child support. Child support is for sustainment of that child's life i.e. Light bill, water bill, etc. Choose better before impregnating. Children are expensive it's another mouth to feed. If a man leaves the household he should still contribute he portion to help with the child. If you can't affordwhat the court orders you to pat reevaluate how you are living. If you say you can't afford $500 a month but you are driving a new Benz where are you priorities ? And that goes for men and women.!
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By: Carol Johnson on 12/05/2010 1:57AM
You questioned where the money was going every month? How about it was "wasted" on feeding, clothing and keeping a roof over you child's head; how about it was "wasted" on providing transportation back and forth to school; how about it was just plain "wasted" on your child's well being. What an idiot!
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