Marriage in America: The frayed knot

The Economist ^ | 5/24/07 | economist

[voletti]

As the divorce rate plummets at the top of American society and rises at the bottom, the widening “marriage gap” is breeding inequality.

There is a widening gulf between how the best- and least-educated Americans approach marriage and child-rearing. Among the elite (excluding film stars), the nuclear family is holding up quite well. Only 4% of the children of mothers with college degrees are born out of wedlock. And the divorce rate among college-educated women has plummeted. Of those who first tied the knot between 1975 and 1979, 29% were divorced within ten years. Among those who first married between 1990 and 1994, only 16.5% were.

At the bottom of the education scale, the picture is reversed. Among high-school dropouts, the divorce rate rose from 38% for those who first married in 1975-79 to 46% for those who first married in 1990-94. Among those with a high school diploma but no college, it rose from 35% to 38%. And these figures are only part of the story. Many mothers avoid divorce by never marrying in the first place. The out-of-wedlock birth rate among women who drop out of high school is 15%. Among African-Americans, it is a staggering 67%.

Does this matter? Kay Hymowitz of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think-tank, says it does. In her book “Marriage and Caste in America”, she argues that the “marriage gap” is the chief source of the country's notorious and widening inequality. Middle-class kids growing up with two biological parents are “socialised for success”.

[voletti]

Anybody surprised?

Read it all.

[vetsvette]

If one conducts one’s life in an irresponsible way, one doesn’t do as well in life. Not much of a surprise to me.

That said, it’s just a matter of time before some leftist determines it is necessary — and only fair — for the Government to institute an affirmative action program for people that have been divorced and for young women that have had children out of wedlock.

[Sleeping Beauty]

I love these stories from the Economist.

Thanks for posting. I’m sure it will be fascinating.

[madprof98]

The problem is the “not that there’s anything wrong with that” and “who are we to judge” culture which formerly stigmatized this behavior but now tolerates and even celebrates it.

[fatez]

“Miss Ballard now thinks that having children before getting married was ‘not a good idea’. She says she would like to get married some day, though she finds the idea of long-term commitment scary.”

I wonder if she has ever thought about the fact that having children is a long term-commitment. She finds pairing with a father for the long run scary, but letting her children basically fend for themselves with out a man not scary.

[fr_freak]

That said, it’s just a matter of time before some leftist determines it is necessary — and only fair — for the Government to institute an affirmative action program for people that have been divorced and for young women that have had children out of wedlock.

Those things have existed for years: AFDC, WIC, TANF, not to mention public housing, section 8. The easiest way to guarantee maximum receipt of any of these benefits is to be an unwed mother. The more children the better.

[Baladas]

I’ve noticed this, too, with the lower middle-class - they’ll tell you they’re not yet ready to marry the mother/father of their children. Being a parent is FAR more difficult than being married.

[fatez]

A two year old can make a grown, sane woman cry and a intelligent, wise man angry and stupid. Yep, being a parent is hard...

[JasonC]

Charles Murray was denounced as a bigoted racist for explaining all of this over 25 years ago, when it was still possible to do something about it. See "Losing Ground".

[CzarNicky]

A piece of string goes into a bar and orders a drink. the bartender says, “We don’t serve string here.”

So the piece of string leaves. The sting tied itself into a knot and frayed both of its ends. The string returned to the bar and the bartender said, “Hey aren’t you that piece of sting I threw out of here?”

The piece of string said, “No I’m a Frayed Knot.”

[Mr. Jeeves]

I wonder if she has ever thought about the fact that having children is a long term-commitment. She finds pairing with a father for the long run scary, but letting her children basically fend for themselves with out a man not scary.

Because she won't get a government check for the father. ;)

[fatez]

Sad, but true. You get more of what you subsidize, and the Democrats get more voters...

[AZLiberty]

A study by Adam Thomas and Isabel Sawhill concluded that if the black family had not collapsed between 1960 and 1998, the black child-poverty rate would have been 28.4% rather than 45.6%. And if white families had stayed like they were in 1960, the white child poverty rate would have been 11.4% rather than 15.4%.

Thank the War on Poverty for breaking up families and creating more poverty.

[biscotti]

She believed that freedom was an important part of sex, essential to her pleasure and well-being. Popular culture chants this song all day long. Too bad for her and her kids this idea is wrong.

Infidelity destroys relationships. I would not be surprised to discover that the reason the fathers are no longer around involves someone sleeping around.

Her circumstances have taught her that she is not a faithful person, and that any man she desires will not be faithful to her either. Infidelity undermines trust in the opposite sex, and in oneself.

Some women have terrible taste in men, plus bad habits. (The converse is also true.)

[amchugh]

Being a parent is far more difficult than being married if your spouse is not a loser, a druggie, an alcoholic, a spouse or child abuser, etc... Not that these people should have babies with someone like that either. However, I would not assume that someone who has a baby out of wedlock is capable of choosing a decent human being to have the baby with.

[george76]

[george76]

bttt

You get more of what you subsidize, and

[subterfuge]

I wonder where the basketball player Lebron James fits into these stats?

Lets see; he's 22 yo, a high school graduate, VERY wealthy and his girlfriend is about to have their second child.

Well, at least he's setting a good example for the AA community.

[george76]

[george76]

THE students at West Virginia University don’t want you to think they take life too seriously. It is the third-best “party school” in America...and comes a creditable fifth in the “lots of beer” category. Booze sometimes causes students’ clothes to fall off.

Those who wake up garmentless after a hook-up endure the “walk of shame”, trudging back to their own dormitories in an obviously borrowed football shirt, stirring up gossip with every step.