Math 101 - Fatherlessness and Falling Birth Rates
Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, and the Beatles
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In Apollo 13, Jim Lovell (the astronaut play by Tom Hanks) hears an explosion on board and calmly states the obvious, “Houston, we have a problem"
Most of our problems in public policy do not sudden happen. They are a result of a multitude of factors over a long period of time.
After a while those problems become obvious as a result of simple math.
Solving complex mathematical equations helped Apollo 13 make it back safely to Earth this month 54 years ago.
The math we have to solve today is simple, but far from easy.
Here are two of our basic problems: Falling Birth Rates + Fatherlessness.
Wall Street Journal article on falling birth rates in the US:
Fatherlessness
One of the questions I posed to the Republican candidates for the US Senate during the Family Foundation’s Candidate Forum last Saturday night (full clip below) was on Fatherlessness:
“All of the candidates here today share something in common - you all are dads.
Fatherlessness is, in my estimation, the greatest underreported issue in America.
Here’s why:
Educational Outcomes:
Children raised without fathers are twice as likely to drop out of school, have lower grades, lower scores on standardized tests and lower educational aspirations.
Behavioral Issue:
Children without fathers are more likely to have behavioral problems like aggression, delinquency, and difficulty controlling emotions and are twice as likely to be involved in criminal behavior.
Employment and Economic:
Fatherless children are more likely to experience poverty and economic instability, have lower levels of economic mobility and higher unemployment rates as adults.
Mental Health:
Children raised without fathers are more likely to suffer from depression, obesity, substance abuse issue and have higher rates of suicide and incarceration.
Some statistics specific to African American males:
72% of adolescent murderers grew up without fathers.
85% of youth in prison are from fatherless homes
It seems that every single domestic problem we have in this country is EASILY traced back to the simple, irrefutable fact that WAY too many children are being raised without fathers in their lives.
This is a national problem. Perhaps even a national security problem.
What should we do at the federal level to solve this one?” (Data source Claude AI)
Response is around 1:12:00 mark