“Why should we expect young mothers to work and not young fathers?”…[Mayor Michael Bloomberg] asked, a reference to the 1996 welfare reform law that, with the EITC, “led millions of people into the labor market, where they attained the dignity of work and a chance to rise out of poverty.” With that, he said, the welfare caseload in New York City had dropped by a third over the past five years.
“Right now,” he continued, “fathers are missing from our strategy to drive down the poverty rate. The gains that we’ve made over the past 10 years have been fueled by mothers. ”¦ If we are going to achieve another round of substantial gains ”¦ we have to do more to connect fathers to jobs and to their families. We have to increase the rewards for work. ”¦”
Among the changes he suggested is eliminating the EITC “marriage penalty” for families with and without children. “Marriage increase a family’s chances of rising out of poverty ”” why would government discourage it? It shouldn’t. ”¦ The EITC should be a catalyst for fathers to fulfill their obligations as responsible spouses, parents and citizens.”
No hot-button cultural rhetoric there. Dry. Nuts-and-bolts.
To the extent that influential voices are dissuaded from addressing vital issues, such as the consequences of the missing father, because they themselves aren’t poor or have failed marriages, everybody loses. Imagine the treatment had Bloomberg chosen to talk about the real dynamic driving poverty, the creation of babies without bothering to marry.
With the DNA technology we have today, how is it that we cannot find the father of the child and hold them responsible for child support? Don’t tell me they are all destitute. At least some good could come of it. I can attest as the step-father of a child who did not receive any financial support from his natural father, he was deeply hurt that his real dad stiffed him for years and now, after the grandchildren arrive, wants to be a part of his life. And, being Christians, we have to forgive. It is not an option.
Intriguing, isn’t it, how Biblical principles are beginning to be shown to be good not only for Biblical believers but for the everyday human. Here we see the importance of a father in a child’s life–the reality that married parents reduce the chance of a child’s living in poverty. We can see that having children–i.e. NOT abortion–is a way to ensure care for older adults in the years to come (Social Security and such.) Sex [b]inside[/b] a marriage (one man, one woman) is the key to a healthier physical and emotional lifestyle.
Wonder when we will start stepping out and proclaiming that which works!