Single Parenthood and the Economy
Single Parenthood and The Economy
By Jeremy Cole
Many people grow up in a financially stable household, with both parents present and working, making decent wages and financially supporting their families. Both parents are able to care for and spend time with their children when they get home from work or have a day off. Now imagine: a tiny 2 bedroom apartment, with 4 siblings. The 2 sisters share a bedroom, and the 2 brothers share the other one. Mom sleeps on the couch, after she gets home from working 16 hours. She works 2 jobs, and each one pays minimum wage. The kids are left to care and defend each other because mom’s too busy with work and trying to make sure she can pay for food, bills, and rent, even though it’s still not enough. It’s environments such as this lead households that are unstable, both socially and financially. Single parent families are a direct and heavy factor to the high poverty rate.
A single parent may have trouble supporting themselves and a single child financially, let alone 2 children or more. Single parents who lead households often have to work multiple jobs to try and support their children, and sometimes that’s not even enough. Not to mention, not having the parent at home enough can also create more and more strenuous relations between the child(ren) and their parent/legal guardian. Children who grow up in poverty tend to live their lives in poverty, and that can lead to a poor economy, which has the potential to crash. If the economy were to crash again, the life of every American would be in shambles. That’s why we must find a way to combat the poverty rates; and one of the best ways to do that is to find a way to keep single parent families away from poverty, such as by assisting them financially if needed, or providing some sort of compensation for getting married and staying above the poverty line.
Sources
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/09/marriage-america-s-greatest-weapon-against-child-poverty
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