

After four decades of increased government funding to address the consequences of broken families, a change in cultural attitudes regarding marriage is evident in the United States. Elected officials, experts, sociologists, community leaders and politicians of all stripes have come to recognize that marriage together – and not government intervention – the key to increased personal well-being of society. More and more research shows that children of married couples are healthier, do better in school, less often living in poverty and are involved in criminal activity or other destructive activities more rarely. But as marriages fail, social problems and public money to solve these problems, increase.
While the U.S. has invested $ 8.4 trillion since the war on poverty began in the 60′s, dependence on welfare funds, juvenile crime, child abuse, low education, drug abuse, suicide among children, and many others problems have increased. At the same time, the federal and state governments still spend about 150 billion annually in subsidies to families with one parent. This contrasted with the approximately $ 150 million spent each year in an effort to reduce the children of single mothers, and divorce – the two main causes of single parent families in the U.S.. In other words, for every $ 1000 that the government spends on services to families torn apart, spends $ 1 to try to avoid fragmentation of the family. And everything that society receives from this “investment” unbalanced is increased that to which it gives subsidy – broken families and children with difficulties and social problems. An analysis of the data shows that:
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Of every 100 children born in recent years, nearly 60 were victims of broken marriages, and
* Births to unmarried mothers has increased significantly from 7% of all births in the 60 to 33% at present. 4
Noting that welfare spending have had backfired, giving poor parents an incentive to not get married after having a child, Congress did something unprecedented in 1966. Passed and President Clinton signed legislation revamping the historical consequences welfare system. 104-193 Under the law, states can use some of the funds for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF English initials) What about that accumulate according to a special formula, if they reduce the number of people receiving welfare payments – programs to strengthen marriage and reduce divorce of the poor.
However, only a few states have found ways to do this, or take action themselves to strengthening marriages. For example,
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In March 2000, the Governor of Oklahoma spent 10% of TANF surplus funds for an initiative that aims to reduce by one-third of divorces in 2010.
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In April 2000, the governor of Arizona passed a marriage law authorizing the expenditure of $ 1 million to develop courses locally to resolve marital difficulties.
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In 1998, the governor of Florida passed a law called the Marriage Preparation and Save The Marriage Preservation, which makes the teaching of marital difficulties, and its solution, part of the secondary school curriculum. The law also encourages premarital preparation by reducing the cost of a marriage license at 50% for those who have completed a marriage preparation course.
The effort to strengthen marriages is increasing among the bases, and several private programs already show valid results. Communities and groups that have adopted report having fewer divorces and marriages stronger and more adolescents also pledging to abstain from sex before marriage. Such programs offer both federal and state legislators, milestones, indicators for policy reform the rules so they can increase and decrease marriages and children born out of wedlock. For example,
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“Marriage Savers” (Marriage Savers), a series of faith-based programs to help the bride and groom, families and marriages irregular problems, has helped reduce the divorce rate up to 30% at the city level, and virtually eliminate divorce at the parish level.
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In over 135 cities across the country, where ‘Community Marriage Covenants’ (covenant marriage) have been signed either by the clergy, congregations and community leaders, divorce rates have declined dramatically. In Modesto, California, for example, the divorce rate has plummeted in a 47.6 percent since 1986, when 95 pastors signed the first ‘covenant marriage’. 5
* In Washington DC, the Best Friends program has led to a reduction of up to 90 percent in the number of wedlock births among teenage members. 6
Instead of throwing more money at tax programs that seek to solve the results of family breakdown, state and federal authorities should take measures to try to prevent the disintegration of the family first. The federal government can continue to provide incentives, flexibility, compulsory measures, and money to urge states to take measures, but as the Representative (Rep.) Nancy L. Johnson (‘R’-Connecticut Republican), former chair of the Resources Subcommittee Human Economic Committee of the House (House Ways and Means), wrote in a letter to state governors,
Although we have provided extra $ 20 million to five states that have reduced the rate of illegitimate births, we need much more information about what government can do to reduce the number of illegitimate births, or what would be equally important, to encourage marriages. [7]
For its part, Congress should continue its historic reform of the welfare system and reach agreement with the Executive to reduce the ‘marriage penalty’ in the tax legislation and adjust the tax credit according to income (“earned income tax credit ‘- EITC) so that low-income married couples with children, receive a benefit slightly larger than that received by single parents.
States also have an important role. They are natural laboratories in which to discover the best policies to increase and decrease marriages in divorce.
Increase the frequency of marriages and reduce the number of divorces are reasonable and necessary political purposes. The future for millions of American children will depend on politicians to succeed in it.
WHY BE GOOD POLICY TO STIMULATE THE MARRIAGES.
The social science literature is replete with findings on the harmful effects of family breakdown, especially for children. Juvenile crime [8], sexual abuse, violence, [9] and very low income are often associated in these studies with families headed by a single parent. (See Tables 1-5). [10] Children born out of wedlock are at much greater risk of mortality inflantil, increased frequency of impaired cognitive development and verbal, and higher rates of drug addiction and extramarital pregnancy in adolescence. [11] When large, they have a higher rate of divorce, working in poorly paid jobs, and abuse their children more often. [12]
Divorce also has implications for concern. Studies show that family income for women and children is likely to fall below the poverty level immediately after the divorce, [13] falling as much as 50 percent, causing a substantial reduction in the ability to earn money and acquire Fortunately the long term [14] Compared with children from intact families, children of divorced parents
* They have higher rates of crime, drug abuse, being sexually abused, and receive negligent care.
* Have poor results on tests of reading, writing and mathematics, and repeat year or drop out of school or college more often.
* They have a much higher incidence of behavioral, emotional, mental and physical health, including depression and suicide, and
* Are more likely to divorce as large, and frequently coexist. [15]
Such effects are not isolated events, set in motion a downward spiral of dysfunctional behavior and despair, which complicates the problem for their own children and future generations. In economic terms, divorce reduces the capital and interest are obtained, at an accelerated rate. The cost to society is exorbitant: An expert on social issues has been estimated that the consequences of crime in American society has a cost of nearly $ 1 billion (American trillion) annually. [16] The statesmen who wanted to stop the decline of society should look rather to the possible ways to reduce the number of illegitimate children, divorces, and how to strengthen marriage.