But analysis of the social science literature demonstrates that the root cause of poverty and income disparity is linked undeniably to the presence or absence of marriage. Broken families earn less and experience lower levels of educational achievement. Worse, they pass the prospect of meager incomes and family instability on to their children, making the effects intergenerational. Children living with a single mother are six times more likely to live in poverty than are children whose parents are married. Those who leave the welfare system when they get married are the least likely to return.
Cohabitation doubles the rate of divorce.
Cohabitation with someone other than one's future spouse quadruples the rate of divorce. Divorce reduces the income of families with children by an average of 42 percent. Almost 50 percent of these families experience poverty. Children in stepfamilies and single-parent families are almost three times more likely to drop out of school than are children in intact families. It is time to change direction.