Rand Paul’s bizarre poverty fantasy: Why he’s wrong about poor women and marriage

[DonViejo]

Conservatives are convinced the greatest tool to lift people out of poverty is marriage. Here's why that's insane

CHRISTIAN EXOO AND CALVIN F. EXOO

Sen. Rand Paul is, once again, confused. Recently, he told a Chamber of Commerce gathering that being “married with kids versus unmarried with kids is the difference between living in poverty and not,” and that the government “should sell that message.”

Sen. Marco Rubio is similarly flummoxed. “The truth is,” he said, “that the greatest tool to lift people … from poverty is one that decreases child poverty by 82 percent. But it isn’t a government program. It’s called marriage. Fifty years ago today, when the War on Poverty was launched, 93 percent of children in the United States were born to married parents. By 2010, that number had plummeted to 60 percent. It shouldn’t surprise us that 71 percent of poor families with children are families that are not headed by a married couple.”

Conservative pundits, for their part, are falling in line, with the Washington Post’s Kathleen Parker claiming that “marriage creates a tiny economy fueled by a magical concoction of love, selflessness and permanent commitment that holds spirits aloft during tough times.” The New York Times’ Ross Douthat takes for granted that marriage leads to economic stability, and David Brooks has simply thrown up his hands: “It would be great if we knew how to boost marriage rates, but we don’t,” he writes.

So why don’t poor women take that simple step, get married and end their poverty? The answer, of course, is that things are not so simple, and that despite conservative ideology’s faith in it, marriage is not the cure for poverty.

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http://www.salon.com/2014/02/12/rand_pauls_bizarre_poverty_fantasy_why_hes_wrong_about_poor_women_and_marriage/

[JaneyVee]

1. But having an unwanted pregnancy is financial freedom for women!

[yeoman6987]

2. Well it is not easy

To have three kids and find a husband is not exactly the easiest thing in the World to do. I agree that having two incomes raises the overall funds going into a household, but Rand Paul thinks it is easy and it is not.

[ladyVet]

3. I've been married and poor, and unmarried and poor.

Frankly, I've had more after my divorce than I could have ever gotten being married to the ex. He'd drive five miles to spend a nickle, even if he ran out of gas on the way. That is, if he hadn't given it to his church first.

It's not as easy for women with children to get married as these people think. I guess they feel we should just take whatever man we can trick into the chapel. Or, we should stay in bad marriages, often with men who aren't good providers anyway.

Thankfully, my children are grown now.

Me, I'd rather starve under a bridge than put up with the crap I endured during my marriage. And I'm not interested in any sort of relationship with a man.