Marriage is the Key Weapon Against Poverty

Both on screen and off these days, it seems Hollywood is making it popular to have and raise kids without a dad — from real life stars who choose to adopt or arrange their pregnancy, to the Friends show where they decide to have kids out of wedlock.

But Hollywood’s pointing us in the wrong direction. If we really care about making life better for kids, women and men, and for ending poverty, the greatest strategy known is marriage!

Marriage

William Galston, a former advisor to President Clinton, summed up the matter this way: you need only do three things in this country to avoid poverty — finish high school, marry before having a child, and marry after the age of 20. Seventy-nine percent of people who fail to do this are poor. The main message here is that marriage is important for adults as well as kids.

It’s been 40 years since our nation embarked on a war against poverty. And frankly we’ve not been able to make much headway for many. It just so happens that strengthening family and supporting marriage is the strategy that can reduce poverty and benefit us all.