One author is explaining why the ultimate privilege is being born into a two-parent household and why the decline in marriage should cause concern.
“This is something as an economic matter, not as a value-laden or moral proposition we should all be really concerned about,” Melissa Kearney stressed during her appearance on Fox News Thursday.
The “Two-Parent Privilege,” author and economist suggests that the decline of two-parent households is driving “class gaps in kids’ opportunities, experiences and household resources.“
“We have mounds of evidence and data and objective studies showing that kids who grow up with the benefit of two parents in their home, their homes are characterized by higher levels of resources,” Kearney told “America’s Newsroom.”
She went on to explain that “more parental supervision and more stability” yield better outcomes for children.
“This is why, from an inequality perspective, this matters so much, because the class and racial gaps in kids’ access really to having a stable, highly resourced two-parent home are driving a lot of these class and racial gaps in society,” the author said.
“If we don’t break this, we should not be surprised that we’re sort of cementing advantage and disadvantage across race and class groups in America.”
Kearney argued that the way to move forward is to “commit to strengthening families” so “more kids are set up on a path to reach their human capital potential.”
If given the opportunity to change this downward trend across the U.S., Kearney suggested an increase in public funding, research and throwing support behind a policy committed to helping families.
