If we really want to unwind and correct what puts some populations at such great risk for bad economic and social outcomes, we should figure out how to accentuate the advantages of marriage.
How essential marriage is, or isn’t, has long been a fraught culture-wars debate. So instead, approach it in economic terms. Few could disagree that at-risk children in low-income households would benefit from living with two married, law-abiding parents bringing home dramatically higher earnings. Census data show that is what marriage does, particularly for black women with children.
"It's clear that marriage helps children."
