Earlier I posed the question, Who relies most heavily on welfare?
The following graph replicates ethnic benefit data and adds marriage data. Is there a relationship between marriage rates and welfare dependence? It would appear so.
Click to view
Generally speaking, the higher the married portion of an ethnic group is, the lower the likelihood of relying on welfare, be it unemployment, sole parent or sickness benefits.
In New Zealand it is very unfashionable to praise marriage as an institution. Perhaps because marriage is viewed as patriarchal and Christian? On the other hand, marriages provide the stable and safe child-rearing economic units upon which successful societies are built. Marriage also requires commitment, which filters through to other aspects of people's lives.
And yet, overall, marriage rates are declining - a trend that does not bode well for the future.
Lindsay Mitchell is a welfare commentator who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
2 comments:
When my wife gave birth to our first two infants, I was only able to see them through a glass door for the first week. Our third was crying straight after birth and the doctor told me to quieten her, so I leaned over the bassinet and talked quietly to her and she quietened and listened. And that is when bonding took place! When bonding does not take place it is a tragedy for the parents and a tragedy for the child and a tragedy for society. Lindsay has it right when she says that the couple make a commitment to each other and get married!
Kevan
>"Perhaps because marriage is viewed as patriarchal and Christian?"
Marriage in some or other form is encountered in all human societies past and present. It may be polygamous or monogamous, but it always involves a publicly made commitment between a man and a woman (in polygamous systems, each marriage contract is separate) and rights and duties of each.
The universality of marriage suggests that it is a cultural adaptation to challenges faced by all human societies, in this instance the need to produce and nurture the next generation. The family remains the most efficient and cost-effective way of producing and raising children.
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