Watch the Press Conference / New ammunition - 4/16/08

[Smartmarriages]

- WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE TAXPAYER COST OF DIVORCE PRESS CONFERENCE

If you couldn't get to Washington yesterday, you can watch the press
conference online. 
http://www.americanvalues.org/html/coff_mediaadvisory.htm

Also, order copies of the report on the site.

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- TAXPAYER COST OF DIVORCE & UNWED BIRTHS

Taxpayer Cost of Divorce & Unwed Births: $112 billion
by Mike McManus
April 16, 2008

 On April 15, tax day, the Institute for American Values and three
pro-family groups held a press conference to deliver a sobering analysis
that "at least $112 billion" of public costs stem from "family
fragmentation" caused by divorce and unwed births.

 "This study documents for the first time that divorce and unwed
childbearing - besides being bad for children - are costing taxpayers a ton
of money," said David Blankenhorn, Institute president.

 He noted that until now, marriage advocates based their support for
reducing divorce and out-of-wedlock births on two grounds:

 1.  Due to their religious faith, millions support marriage and oppose
divorce and unwed child bearing.

 2.  Social costs and human suffering as a result of broken homes is
thoroughly documented.  For example, children of single parent families are
three times as likely to be expelled from school or become pregnant as teens
as those from intact homes and are five times as apt to live in poverty. .
 
 "However, marriage advocates have been tongue-tied on the economic
dimension of family fragmentation because we have not had good evidence, no
rigorous study producing hard data until today," Blankenhorn asserted. "We
had suspicions that family breakdown was costing taxpayers a lot of money,
but we did not have rigorous studies that gave us compelling empirical
evidence."

 "Until today" when "The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing"
study was released. "Now I believe you have a new tool in your tool kit to
make economic arguments. Policymakers, who are the custodians of our tax
dollars, like having things expressed in dollars of public costs. This is
what they are responsive to."

 What are those costs?  For, example, less than one percent of married
mothers are in poverty, but divorce pushes 24 percent of them into poverty.
Many subsequently go on welfare, start using food stamps, housing and day
care subsidies plus Medicaid, school lunch and breakfast programs and Head
Start. 

 Add to those numbers the fact that 38 percent of children are born to unwed
mothers, who get the same taxpayer provided assistance.

 As children of broken families become teenagers, they are more than twice
as likely to commit a crime as those from intact homes. Single adult males
are similarly more likely to be criminals, generating billions of costs for
courts, police and prisons.

 What if these single parents were married?  Millions would be lifted out of
poverty and thus would need fewer taxpayer subsidies.  Different experts
estimate that 65 to 80 percent of single mothers would move into the middle
class.  To be conservative, the report assumed only 60 percent of females
would escape poverty.

 The report estimates that the federal, state and local cost of these
programs is $90 billion. In addition, the study reports that poverty
decreases income by $170 billion a year.  The result is that $22 billion
less taxes are paid.  Thus, the study estimates a total cost to taxpayers of
family fragmentation at $112 billion per year.

 If anything, these estimates are low.  They do not count the $40 billion
Earned Income Tax Credit, nine-tenths of which goes to single parents. Nor
the $13 billion of federal education subsidies for poor kids  And only 8.6
percent of criminal justice costs are counted when 56 percent of those in
prisons came from single parent homes.

 Yet $112 billion is huge.  Randy Hicks, president of the Georgia Family
Council noted the U.S. has spent $500 billion on the Iraq War over the last
five years - which is less than the $560 billion taxpayers spent on
consequences of divorce and unwed births.

 To put it differently, the study estimated that even a 1% decline in the
divorce rate, for example, would save taxpayers $1.1 billion.  Is that
possible?

 The clergy of 114 cities adopted reforms to strengthen marriage that has
reduced divorce rates by an average of 17.5 percent in 114 cities, according
to an independent study. Austin, Kansas City and five other cities slashed
divorce rates in half. (Disclosure: I run Marriage Savers which helped
them..)    

 To date, only seven states are funding programs to strengthen marriage and
the spending is tiny. Texas set aside 1 percent of welfare spending, $15
million over two years, to fund programs to reduce divorce rates.

 However, this study provides evidence that there could be no better public
investment for all states than programs aimed at strengthening marriage.
Only 68 percent of children live with both parents today but as recently as
1970, 85 percent were in intact homes.

 Now marriage advocates have new ammunition for the fight.

END TXT Copyright © 2008 Michael J. McManus
 
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