Marriage Reduces Child Poverty

Marriage is the Strongest Factor in Reducing Child Poverty in the U.S.

Over a third of single-parent families with children are poor, compared to only seven percent of married families. Overall, children in married families are 82 percent less likely to be poor than are children of single parents. The strong impact of marriage in reducing poverty still appears when married and non-married families of the same race and education level are compared.

Commentary From the Blogger: As the chart and research claims, the probability child poverty is reduced by 82 percent in the United States by 82 percent as a result of marriage. If the United States had a divorce rate that mirrored the numbers that were prevalent in the 1970’s, then the poverty rate would be more than 25 percent lower than it is today – and that is without adjusting for welfare spending on the state and federal levels.

The relationship between poverty and family composition is, perhaps, one of the most persuading arguments to be made for Natural Law. Of course, there will always be families that need to access the social safety net, but as it exists now, the net is more like a spider web. Welfare reform, coupled with civil actions to reduce the amount of single-parent households would be far more effective than any federal spending program that politicians looking to win over votes could ever design.

Furthermore, bureaucrats design social welfare to keep poverty tolerable and consistent, as the incentive to reduce poverty is not embedded into the system. Why would they want to problem solve themselves out of a job? Need more evidence, either do the research yourself to find out that this is exactly what happens, or you could read “Our Virtuous Republic.” If you choose to search for the answers yourselves, then I would strongly suggest Michael Tanner’s work on poverty in America.

It is terrible to think that people actually design their livings around the suffering of others, but that is an unfortunate fact. Such is the nature of government, however, which is why civil society must be prepared to solve these problems ourselves. Thus far, they simply are not and do not. Conservatives “attempt” to excoriate me for pointing that out, but it is just a fact. Besides, a true conservative would recognize this and help to take the necessary steps to correct suffering where-ever possible.

Remember: The words read, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” not the pursuit of selfishness. If we are too self-absorbed to build a strong enough society, which in the end will render government unnecessary, then we deserve what the despots throw at us. – Richard D. Baris

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