Posted on 12/27/2010 2:33:51 PM PST by neverdem
Foreclosures, plant closings, offshored jobs, underwater mortgages, miserable rates of unemployment, stagnating incomes: Is there any end to the woes of the struggling American middle? Apparently not, because now comes news of a trend guaranteeing trouble ahead for the more than half of the nation that make up the moderately educated and moderately earning middle even if the economy improves.
That seismic shift, outlined in a new report from the National Marriage Project and the Institute for American Values, is towards more divorce, more out of wedlock births and, ipso facto, fewer kids with a hopeful future.
Family breakdown, to put it simply, has hit white middle America big time.
Researchers have known for a while now that there is a significant "marriage gap" between affluent couples and low-income, largely minority, ones. The children of well-to-do college educated couples are considerably more likely to be growing up in a home with both their mother and father present than the children of the poor who are more often than not living without their fathers. It surprises most people to hear it, but rates of divorce among college-educated women have actually been declining since 1980...
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
You describe the effects of Vatican II. The problems are so dire that we need true religion more than ever. This is true for everyone and especially for those with children. Don't give up. Find a traditionalist priest.
Back in the supposedly benighted days, single mothers and widows could draw authority from...God the Father. Not to mention, for widows, the soul of the real father gazing down from the afterlife.
Nowadays, the typical single mom doesn't have that source of strength. Need I point out how things have gone?
That motto definitely sounds like it belongs over a background of Scottish tartan...
Sigh. How did we get here? I do believe liberal tenets are primarily responsible. Sad.
We have created a system that punishes having children.... Most people will follow the path of least resistance and are outright hedonists (maximize pleasure). We have de-incentivized and devalued marriage in every respect.
Classic, classic tragedy of the commons. What a way to make Social Security even shakier than it would have been otherwise.
Sad to say, it gives a powerful incentive for unrestricted immigration. It's not that hard to shrug off the "legalize and tax" argument with respect to marijuana, because doing so wouldn't add that much to government budgets on a percentage basis. Besides, any such tax revenue would go into the general till. If there's any tax-desirous constituency that'd be really swayed by that argument, it'd be government-employee retirees - or soon-to-be retirees.
On the other hand, "legalize immigrants and FICO-tax them" has a bigger constituency. The liberals either haven't clued in yet or have yet to launch a campaign on that basis.
Imagine seeing this sign held by an illegal immigrant on the news: "GRINGO - I PAY YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY!" It'd be a sign that the pro-amnesty faction is pulling out the main artillery.
The American people have never learned and never will, I suspect.
Downhill, but remember algore said what is supposed to be up is down, and what is supposed to be down is up. And the American voters in their infinite ignorance had to agree.
To be honest, I think it's because "liberalism" is a gaggle of several types of liberals, each with their own agenda and hobby horse. Look at how often the actions of social liberals (in the narrow sense) have undone the work of economic liberals. The left hand often undoes what the right hand has done.
Result? Liberals need to blame conservatives - or anyone else - for being 'obstructionist'. Such are the wages of a side that can't get its own act together, except for disbursements from the Treasury or clamping down on some part of the private sector.
I agree with you. Out of wedlock births are a disaster. Here in Texas Medicaid (for the destitute) makes up 25% of the state budget. One half of all children are born at public expense, and two thirds of those in nursing homes are paid for by the state. I’m sure other states are just as bad. Our governments engender this type of social dysfunction and the Democrats exploit it to the max. Capitalism is a great system but it wasn’t meant to make these type of people members of the middle class. The Democrats would have you believe that it is greedy Republicans at the root of our dissolution. I know better.
Aye, laddie, a wee bit of the tartan is just the ticket!!!
I have no idea why almost all women take full advantage of the court system to absolutely screw men, taking all they have to include the kids.
The "men" you speak of that passed all these laws are politicians are were trying to be politically correct and not be demonized by any number of powerful women's advocacy groups. The media is certainly a women's advocacy group.
How many advocacy groups do men have? None that I can think of.
Their population is in reality level because of the influx of north African, Indian, middle eastern, Italian years past, Slavic and Turkish people. It's not rocket science, you ain't maintaining or growing when the average German woman has 1.38 kids.
http: //www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1991216,00.html
Western society has destroyed the foundation of any society, the family. There is no requirement or expectation of marriage if people live together have kids etc. The negative stigma of divorce is all but gone. Gays and others can essentially have all the benefits a married couple has. A marriage brings with it little in terms of what that means and a doctor, school, etc will not share information with a married spouse. Divorce is fairly easy and cheep if you shop around. Employers don't frown on it. There is no peer pressure to marry a girl that a guy got pregnant. Married life is portrayed as dull, husbands dead beats, and stay at home moms stupid. It's nearly considered irresponsible to have a large family. Those that choose to have kids wait until old and are often in shock when they find out they are infertile or have an increased risk of genetic issues with the baby. Woman see childbirth as a horrible and negative thing because they are fat, it inconveniences them and interferes with their career too, after all. Kids cost a lot of money, and the Tax code makes up for on average less than 1/4 of the true costs of having child for a middle class family. Yet those that choose to be childless will still get fed, medically treated and transported around in their old age. Having a child means you can't be a serial polygamist, couple that swings, hang out in bars....... You're “lifestyle” will get cramped by this little guy that creates a very large carbon footprint, unlike your small green smart car that can't seat any children. Abortion is readily available, so is birth control and sterilization which an insurance will pay for. Fertility treatments not so much, and of course a change in mind after being sterilized is a cost you will carry.
No culture nor nation can survive long term if it adopts this thinking.
The impact of illegals may have come home to roost.
Unless “the people” roll back excessive regulation, excessive taxation, and excessive litigation, the job losses and offshoring and divorces will continue.
This economy is being choked to death. Of course there is fallout.
When this happened men WERE the media.
Before no-fault divorce, one person was found guilty of breaking the marriage contract and men could get the children if the mother was unfit (sleeping around). Men just wanted to eliminate alimony - look where that got them.
I still remember when the no-fault divorce was being debated. My mom was all for it.
The argument went like this. People were having to LIE to get a divorce. People shouldn’t have to do that. The two married people would agree on how to do this before they went to court. And the poor judges had to decide if they were lying or not. And judges didn’t want to be involved in these family matters. No, that wasn’t good either.
Well, what was ignored was that these two people WANTED the divorce and they were BOTH in agreement about it.
The result? The courts ARE involved in peoples lives to a very intrusive extent, it only takes ONE person to get that divorce, and there is a whole industry dependent on an endless stream of people tearing up their families.
My mom? Well, good ol’ dad divorced her after she finished putting him though college; he married a gold digging ******, and loves her children by another man better than his own flesh and blood. He got to keep the house, and his pension. He made out like a bandit. She has spent the last thirty years alone.
Very sad, really.
BRavo — I love your post. I hate the welfare state and all that it stands for too. Thank you for posting that
Exactly — everyone thinks marriage will be a bed of roses, but it has it’s hard times too — the thing about being an adult is sticking with things in the hard times
It was Feminists with NOW who promoted No Fault Divorce. The entire system is designed to financially reward Women who overwhelmingly end marriages with Children. It is nearly at 90
per cent now. When you subsidize any behavior it encourages more of the same. We have created a massive Divorce Industry.
While Conservatives and the Churches of the US wring their hands. Family life is dying here. The numbers of bastard children born is on the increase. Marriage is a joke, like a Rent contract.
No matter what some male (and female) Freepers post on these boards about the family court system and how they unfairly and absolutely screw men, there are also the feminist cheerleaders that chime in and think it’s just wonderful.
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