by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 16, 2008) A new report by several policy and research groups has found that the high rate of divorce and unwed childbearing costs the American taxpayer at least $112 billion a year and has amounted to more than $1 trillion in the last decade alone.
“The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and All 50 States,” was released on April 15 at the National Press Club by four renowned policy and research groups – Institute for American Values, Georgia Family Council, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, and Families Northwest.
“This study documents for the first time, that divorce and unwed childbearing – besides being bad for children – are also costing taxpayers a ton of money,” said David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values.
“Even a small improvement in the health of marriage in America would result in enormous savings to taxpayers,” he said. “For example, a one percent reduction in rates of family fragmentation would save taxpayers $1.1 billion.”
The study found that these costs are due to increased taxpayer expenditures for anti-poverty, criminal justice and education programs, and through the lower levels of taxes paid by individuals whose adult productivity has been diminished due to the childhood poverty caused by family fragmentation.
For instance, the report found that to support single-parent families for a year, the nation spends $28 billion in Medicaid and another $35 billion in other welfare programs. An additional $9 billion is spent on child-welfare costs.
And because single-parent families are often faced with joblessness or involvement in criminal activity, the nation loses an estimated $23 billion in lost tax revenue while spending an additional $19 billion on the maintenance of courts, police, prison and jail systems.
“Prior research shows that marriage lifts single mothers out of poverty and therefore reduces the need for costly social benefits, said Ben Scarfidi, Ph.D., economics professor at George College and State University.
“This new report shows that public concern about the decline of marriage need not be based only on ‘moral’ concerns, but that reducing high taxpayer costs of family fragmentation is a legitimate concern of government, policy makers and legislators, as well as community reformers and faith communities.”
The report provides a solid basis for making the strengthening of marriage a legitimate policy concern, Blankenhorn said, while pointing out that the numbers it contains have been vetted by distinguished scholars and economists who were not afraid to attach their names to the report.
“These numbers represent real people,” said Randy Hicks, president of the Georgia Family Council. “Both economic and human costs make family fragmentation a legitimate public concern. Historically, Americans have resisted the impulse to surrender to negative and hurtful trends. We fight problems like racism, poverty and domestic violence because we understand that the stakes are high.
“And while we’ll never eliminate divorce and unwed childbearing entirely, we can certainly be doing more to help marriages and families succeed.”
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