Posted on 04/17/2008 7:37:11 AM PDT by Between the Lines
A new report says broken families are costing taxpayers over $112 billion every year. It's the first time researchers have tallied the total cost of divorce and unwed childbearing.
"There's no political agenda attached to any of this. It basically says we have an unbelievably high cost of family fragmentation in our country and we need to explore the solutions to turn this trend around," said Jeff Kemp President of Families Northwest in Redmond, which co-sponsored the report.
Kemp says while the national price tag totals billions per year, the numbers in Washington are equally staggering. He says, "In Washington state, it's $711 million. We could hire 15,000 teachers every year in our state at that cost. It's a tax bill of $313 per household."
The study says the high costs are due to taxpayer expenditures for anti-poverty, criminal justice and education programs, and individuals whose productivity is negatively affected by increased childhood poverty caused by a fragmented family.
Kemp's group has a strong Christian affiliation, but he insists the research is completely objective, "Fifteen independent national renowned researchers and economists, including the Brookings Institution, reviewed this research."
It's research, he hopes, will spark lawmakers and community leaders to work on new ways to strengthen families and marriages, by putting new resources and energy into things like counseling. Kemp says, "The goal now must be to change some destructive trends. How we do that is a very important discussion to have in our society. There are a number of solutions starting in the communities, but we need to support strengthening marriages and making sure more kids have the benefits of their mom and dad raising them."
The name of the report is "The Taxpayers Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and All 50 States," and was sponsored by the Institute for American Values, Georgia Family Council, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, and Families Northwest.
1. California $4,829
2. NewYork $3,668
3. Texas $2,957
4. Ohio $2,739
5. Pennsylvania $2,315
6. Florida $1,953
7. Illinois $1,949
8. Michigan $1,562
9. Georgia $1,460
10. North Carolina $1,329
11. New Jersey $1,003
12. Massachusetts $945
13. Indiana $839
14. Virginia $776
15. Tennessee $757
16. Wisconsin $737
17. Maryland $724
18. Connecticut $712
19. Washington $711
20. Louisiana $670
21. Missouri $664
22. Arizona $654
23. Kentucky $654
24. Mississippi $605
25. Minnesota $574
26. Alabama $548
27. Arkansas $471
28. South Carolina $469
29. Colorado $454
30. Oklahoma $430
31. Kansas $389
32. Oregon $361
33. Iowa $359
34. Utah $276
35. West Virginia $231
36. New Mexico $230
37. Maine $214
38. Rhode Island $206
39. Nevada $199
40. District of Columbia $162
41. Nebraska $142
41. Idaho $127
43. Alaska $114
44. Montana $113
45. Hawaii $112
46. New Hampshire $99
47. Delaware $88
48. South Dakota $77
49. Vermont $74
50. North Dakota $69
51. Wyoming $61
I do believe the general point, no fault marriage was a disaster for families with kids, but what he is claiming is hard to prove, I mean single Mom’s are the current middle class trend and even GW Bush called them heros.
But this report begs the Walter Williams question: Is your/the problem with broken families or is it with Socialism?
Having government involved with families is always a slippery slope. Government provided counseling?
1969 - “Let’s teach American youth to be a bunch of sluts who care nothing about anything but their own momentary gratification, and increase our liberal voter base.”
2008 - “The bill is WHAAT?!”
Yeah... I originally saw this article when a friend of mine, a young single mother, sent it to me. She’s an accountant and pays plenty of taxes, so she was quite annoyed to be lumped into a category with a bunch of deadbeats (like the guy she left in the first place.) Anecdotal, sure, but she says the reason she is a single mother is because it was her way out of raising her child in the ghetto. Obviously, people like her don’t exist for the purposes of this “analysis” in the article.
Do they ever measure the cost of lost wages/productivity too? Between depositions, court appearances, lawyers appointments, dealing with other paperwork, I would think most people would miss alot of work.
Did President Bush say anything about us single Fathers?
Oh wait. We’re a myth. Nevermind.
No fault divorce is just so good for society!
/s
And the monetary cost is nothing compared to the forever forfeiting of any future normal, tension-free weddings and funerals.
Ditto. The key is teaching the women to say no to the guys who want to whip out his you know what to do you know what. That means teaching the young woman several precautionary behaviors to avoid being seduced. Example - wandaring into bars and drinking late into the night, dress appropriately and act appropriately so the horny guy does not get the wrong idea, saying no when a strange guy or a horny friend tries to establish a conversation with you and you sort of know where he is trying to take you to, choose the right male friends who will respect you, and constantly aware that even if you meet the best looking and sexiest guy in the world, avoid the temptation because in the end the woman is usually stuck with the child when the father is not prepare to settle down so early in his life. So dads and moms that is your job to teach your daughters the facts of life.
and they tell me its free love
(No, I'm not one myself.)
Yeah, but it’d help if people would take responsibility for their actions.
RE : “the reason she is a single mother is because it was her way out of raising her child in the ghetto”
How did that help her?
Of course, it depends on the situation. In my case, she didn’t take me to the cleaners. I have full custody, the house, and she gets no $$ from me. And all I did was use her mentality of, “ME FIRST!!!” against her.
The same mentality drilled into liberals since the sixties. Their curse was my weapon. And my Sons are better for it -they have a parent who cares enough for the both of them that they don’t miss her. THEY gave me the strength to win.
Another liberal curse used as a weapon: Disregard for children.
I owe my little Sons everything.
Dad’s broke, in & outta jail
>>Did President Bush say anything about us single Fathers?<<
Did anyone notice the shift in our culture in the 1970’s.
In the 1960’s we had “The Courtship of Eddies Father”, “Family Affair”, My Three Sons, Etc. Can you think of a single show that dealt with a single mother?
But Then came the 70’s and beyond. Lots and LOTS of shows about single parents - all mothers.
I believe it IS a conspiracy, but I believe “...our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” - Ephesians 6: 12
No-fault divorce is crippling our nation. And with the credit meltdown it will skyrocket.
>>The key is teaching the women to say no to the guys who want to whip out his you know what to do you know what. That means teaching the young woman several precautionary behaviors to avoid being seduced.<<
Um, the GIRLS are the sexual predators now.
I should know, the third of my daughters graduated from high school a couple of years ago. She had lots of slumber parties at our house. My wife and I were absolutely stunned at the topics of discussion, not to mention the very open comments of our youngest daughter to us about some of her friends behavior.
Then there was the time I chaparoned a senior prom and saw the virtual “pole dancing” and sandwiches going on...
>>Dad’s broke, in & outta jail<<
It doesn’t sound like that one was “no fault”.
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