THE FEDERALIST® BRIEF
The Internet's Conservative Journal of Record
federalist.com
Date: 22 June 1999
Federalist #99-25.brf
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THIS WEEK'S FEATURE/SPONSOR
NATIONAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH
Families, communities and citizens should be at the center of American
society, not the government. Reaching this goal requires rolling back
the excesses of a half century of failed government programs, slashing
an imposing federal bureaucracy and restoring the personal liberties
of every American. The National Center for Public Policy Research is a
communications and research foundation dedicated to providing free
market solutions to today's public policy problems.
Visit nationalcenter.org
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INSIGHT
"No one denies that weighty problems confront a large segment of the
black population. But those problems have little to do with
discrimination. There is no evidence that colleges are turning away
black students with 1200 on the SAT, but there's a plenty of evidence
that blacks are not achieving high SAT scores. There's no evidence
that businesses don't locate in black neighborhoods because white
owners and investors don't like dollars coming out of black hands.
There's a plenty of evidence that black criminals make economic
activity in black communities unattractive. There's no evidence that
discrimination accounts for today's unprecedented, devastating
illegitimacy, family breakdown and dependency rates. There's a plenty
of evidence that irresponsible personal choices do. The major problems
that stand in the way of broader advancement will be solved only when
blacks finally recognize that our destinies lie in our hands and only
we can solve what are essentially black problems -- not Washington,
politicians and the intellectual elite." --Walter E. Williams
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FAMILY IN BRIEF
Fatherhood -- 1999
Father's Day is not only a day to express our gratitude for all our
fathers have done for us, but also a day to reflect on the importance
of fathers to society as a whole.
Although a January 1999 poll found that 72 percent of Americans
believe that fatherlessness is the most significant family or social
problem facing America, this is apparently a problem that many don't
care enough about to solve.
* Forty percent of the children of divorced parents haven't seen
their dads in the past year.
* Thirty-six percent of children, approximately 24.7 million,
don't live with their biological father. In 1960, just nine percent
of children lived with one parent.
* The number of live births to unmarried women increased from
224,300 in 1960 to 1,248,000 in 1995, while the number of children
living with never-married mothers grew from 221,000 in 1960 to
5,862,000 in 1995.
* A just-released National Fatherhood Initiative analysis found
that of the 102 prime-time network TV shows in late 1998, only fifteen
featured a father as a central character. Of these, the majority
portrayed the father as uninvolved, incompetent or both.
But for the kids who have them, a good dad makes a big difference.
Consider:
* Children with fathers are twice as likely to stay in school.
* Boys with dad and mom at home are half as likely to be
incarcerated, regardless of their parents' income or educational
level. According to a Men Against Domestic Violence survey, 85
percent of youths in prison come from fatherless homes.
* Girls 15-19 raised in homes with fathers are significantly
less likely to engage in premarital sex, and 76 percent of teenage
girls surveyed said their fathers are very or somewhat influential
over their decisions regarding sex.
* Girls raised in single-mother homes are more likely to give
birth while single and are more likely to divorce and remarry.
Studies have shown that girls whose fathers depart before their fifth
birthday are especially likely to have permissive sexual attitudes and
to seek approval from others.
* Paternal praise is associated with better behavior and
achievement in school, while father absence increases vulnerability
and aggressiveness in young children, particularly boys.
* Young children living without dads married to their moms are
ten times as likely to be in poverty.
* Fatherless children are "at a dramatically greater risk" of
drug and alcohol abuse, says the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
* Children living in households with fathers are less likely to
suffer from emotional disorders and depression.
* When dads don't live with their kids, the children are 4.3
times more likely to smoke cigarettes during their teenage years.
* A white teenage girl with an advantaged background is five
times more likely to be a teen mom if she grows up in a household
headed by a single mom instead of with her biological dad and mom.
* Children with involved dads are less susceptible to peer
pressure, are more competent, more self-protective, more self-reliant
and more ambitious.
These benefits to kids come at a cost for dads, but many are willing
to make even greater sacrifices. Thirty percent of fathers said they
have turned down a promotion or transfer because it would harm the
amount of time they would have available for their families. In a 1991
survey, 75 percent of men said they would trade rapid career
advancement for a chance to have more time with their families.
It doesn't take a lot of modern sociological data for people to
realize that involved dads make an irreplaceable contribution to the
lives of their kids.
(From The National Center for Public Policy Research)
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POLICY PAGES & POINTS OF INTEREST
(NOTE: For our subscribers with WWW access, if the URL line breaks,
please select, copy and paste the entire link address into your
browser's target address field.)
Fatherhood Resources....
National Center for Fathering
fathers.com
The Institute for Responsible Fatherhood & Family Revitalization
responsiblefatherhood.org
Center for Successful Fathering
fathering.org
National Fatherhood Initiative
fatherhood.org
Childhood Trends
childtrends.org
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THE LAST WORD
This Week's Clintoon:
cartoonery.com
And a final note: Congratulations! Today, June 22, 1999, is "Cost of
Government Day" when median income Americans have accumulated enough
earned income to pay their individual taxes (Tax Freedom Day
celebrated in May) plus those hidden taxes, the cost of bureaucratic
regulations. Americans for Tax Reform research indicates, "The U.S.
General Accounting Office has reported that between April 1, 1996 and
March 31, 1999, the federal government issued more than 12,925 new
regulatory rules. Of these, 188 were listed as 'major rules'. A major
rule is defined as a new regulation estimated to cost Americans more
than $100 million each year." You know, AL Gore really has been
"reinventing government"!
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