8/13/2019 Understanding Illegitimacy

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Understanding Illegitimacy

By Robert Rector

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The press has rushed to report a minuscule drop in teen births based on data released Tuesdayby the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) !s usual" the mainstream media are focusin# on atri$ial" politically correct story %hile i#norin# the real story buried in the data

&ere's the real story !ccordin# to CDC" a record *+ percent of children born in ,**- %ereborn outside marria#e . a total of /0, million children The o$er%helmin# ma1ority of theun%ed mothers %ere youn# adults %ith lo% education le$els" precisely the 2ind of indi$iduals%ho ha$e the #reatest difficulty #oin# it alone in our society

nly about 04 percent of these out5of5%edloc2 births" /3*"***" %ere to #irls under /- fcourse" these births can be disastrous for the #irls in$ol$ed But as a social problem" teenpre#nancies and births are of 6uite limited importance By contrast" /0, million out5of5%edloc2births amount to an o$er%helmin# catastrophe for ta7payers and society

The steady #ro%th of childbearin# by sin#le %omen and the #eneral collapse of marria#e"especially amon# the poor" lie at the heart of the mushroomin# %elfare state This year" ta7payers%ill spend o$er 83** billion pro$idin# means5tested %elfare aid to sin#le parents The a$era#esin#le mother recei$es nearly three dollars in #o$ernment benefits for each dollar she pays inta7es These subsidies are funded lar#ely by the hea$y ta7es paid by hi#her5income married

couples

!merica is rapidly becomin# a t%o5caste society" %ith marria#e and education at the di$idin#line Children born to married couples %ith a colle#e education are mostly in the top half of thepopulation9 children born to sin#le mothers %ith hi#h5school de#rees or less are mostly in thebottom half

The disappearance of marria#e in lo%5income communities is the predominant cause of childpo$erty in the :; today yndon ?ohnson %as launchin# the @ar on Po$erty" 0 percent of !mericanchildren %ere born outside marria#e @hite &ouse staffer Daniel Patric2 Aoynihan" later :;;enator from e% or2 " %arned the nation of the calamities associated %ith the #ro%in#number of out5of5%edloc2 births or more than * years" our society has i#nored Aoynihan's%arnin#s Despite the transparent lin2a#es amon# po$erty" social problems" and disinte#ration of

http://www.heritage.org/about/staff/r/robert-rectorhttp://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2010/04/understanding-illegitimacyhttp://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2010/04/understanding-illegitimacyhttp://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2010/04/understanding-illegitimacyhttp://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2010/04/understanding-illegitimacyhttp://www.heritage.org/about/staff/r/robert-rector

8/13/2019 Understanding Illegitimacy

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the family" the liberal intelli#entsia has %atched the steady collapse of marria#e in lo%5incomecommunities %ith silent indifference

The reason Aost liberal academics re#ard marria#e as an outdated" socially bac2%ardinstitution9 they ha$e shed no tears o$er its demise E$en %orse" liberal politicians and

anonymous #o$ernment bureaucrats ha$e a $ested interest in the #ro%th of the %elfare state" andnothin# #ro%s the %elfare state li2e the disappearance of marria#e

;in#le mothers are inherently in far #reater need of #o$ernment support than married couples" soan increase in sin#le parenthood leads almost ine$itably to an increase in #o$ernment benefitsand ser$ices and a thri$in# %elfare industry to supply them Aarital collapse creates abur#eonin# ne% clientele dependent on #o$ernment ser$ices and political patrons @hen liberalsrefuse to tal2 about marria#e and the poor in the same breath" they are #uilty of %illful ne#lect ofthe ma1or source of po$erty

or the statist" the collapse of marria#e is a #ift that 2eeps on #i$in#iberal 1ournalists and pundits deliberately remain silent on the far lar#er issue of out5of5%edloc2 childbearin# amon# adults because they belie$e the collapse of marria#e is irrele$ant" if

not beni#n rom their perspecti$e" concern about marria#e is a mere red5state superstition9 theimportant tas2 is to increase #o$ernment subsidies as %e build a post5marria#e society