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Thursday, June 7. 2012

More on the statistical misfortune of single motherhood

From Kay Hymowitz' American Caste - Family breakdown is limiting mobility and increasing inequality:



...the single-mother revolution has left us with the following reality. At the top of the social order is a positive feedback loop, with kids raised in stable, high-investment, and relatively affluent homes going to college, finding similar mates, and raising their own children in stable, high-investment, and relatively affluent homes. At the bottom is a negative feedback loop, with kids raised by single mothers in unstable, low-investment homes finding themselves unable to adapt to today’s economy and going on to create more unstable, single-mother homes.


Not only do we have more poverty, inequality, and immobility; we have the makings of a caste society, with an inherited elite and an entrenched proletariat. That’s not an America that anyone finds very attractive.



Raising kids as a single parent is something that only extraordinary people can do well.

Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 13:54 | Comments (14) | Trackbacks (0)

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Thank you LBJ.
#1 BillH on 2012-06-07 15:45 (Reply)
This country has totally devalued marriage to the point where we can't even agree what the word means, so we shouldn't be surprised about the consequences.

Given the rash of recent court decisions regarding same-sex marriage, it is only a matter of time before the states and federal government are also forced to recognize polygamy as marriage. It will be interesting to see what effect that will have on society.
#2 Jim on 2012-06-07 16:46 (Reply)
I have always believed that destroying the family is the Democrats goal
#3 bgarrett on 2012-06-07 16:59 (Reply)
John Edwards claimed there were two Americas, and the Dems have done their Damnedest (I mean that literally) to make it so,
#4 Sam L. on 2012-06-07 17:26 (Reply)
With regard to single-mothers, John Edwards has made his own personal contribution.
#4.1 Jim on 2012-06-07 20:34 (Reply)
Unmarried women having more children vs Married women having fewer children = Social Disaster. So Dan Quayle was right after all.

Of course, the warning signs were there. When Harlem, which once had a strong black family-oriented community, began to look like Haiti and Liberia, that should have been a big red flag that something bad was going on right under our noses.
#5 Agent Cooper on 2012-06-07 19:02 (Reply)
But saying so is raaaaacist! You bad boy, Agent Cooper.
#5.1 Sam L. on 2012-06-07 19:06 (Reply)
Me TOO, Me Too, Please quote me anywhere...
#5.1.1 dorf on 2012-06-07 20:54 (Reply)
I would write I am a racist Twenty Five times but I respect the hosts server bill.

Since any racist can call me out I guess I should just succumb now...
#6 dorf on 2012-06-07 20:58 (Reply)
But all single mothers are extraordinary...they told them so at self-esteem camp.
#7 Jephnol (Link) on 2012-06-07 21:36 (Reply)
Destruction of the nuclear family IS a political goal - of the communist party.

"26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy.. .

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. . .

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. . ."

Communist goals as partially stated by "The Naked Communist," read into the Congressional record on Jan. 10, 1963.

Another stated goal was the infiltration of one or more political parties. . .
#8 Marie on 2012-06-07 23:10 (Reply)
About 70% of black kids live in single-parent homes.
Thank you, Democrats of the Great Society.
You've destroyed the black family by addicting them to welfare.
Just like when you were slaveholders before the Civil War.
#9 PacRim Jim (Link) on 2012-06-07 23:17 (Reply)
When you don't understand a concept you should not use it in a metaphor. I guess the author thinks the negative feedback loop controlling his blood pH is a bad thing?
#10 Me on 2012-06-07 23:25 (Reply)
As "Me" points out, the author's use of the feedback terminology is wrong. The second example is also a positive feedback loop..."positive feedback" and "negative feedback" are not terms of moral judgment but rather indicate whether having more of something causes having STILL more of it (positive feedback) or whether having more of something causes having LESS of it (negative feedback).
#11 david foster (Link) on 2012-06-08 07:50 (Reply)

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