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If you need a smaller government, you need a stronger family.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the size and scope of government through government efficiency (DOGE) could change the national trajectory. But Trump cannot bring this promise only by reducing wasteful spending. American taxpayers are forced to fund European DEI programs, drug shows in Ecuador, and electric vehicle experiments in Asia. Turning this tap off is not enough.
Soon, the path to restoring American financial health will lead the administration to a much more politically dangerous path.
If this makes us panic, we should ask the obvious question: why so many millions of Americans rely on programs like housing assistance, food stamps, government-funded healthcare and more. Are you doing it? In fact, the majority of the answer is that the decline in marriage and the collapse of family have encouraged many of our nation’s large and large dependences to meet many of our basic needs. .
Our country outsources the important functions of our families to the nation, and it is not working. (istock)
For Doge to navigate these bodies of waters and achieve its massive ambitions, it needs to think along deeper lines than trimming staff from the federal government or wasted programs. Government power needs to be returned to smaller units, such as families, communities, and states.
The Centre for Christian Virtues and the Institute of Family Research recently collaborated on a new study called “.Hope and future report“The report delves deeply into how lower marriage rates drive poverty, academic failure and violence in our communities, especially among low-income Ohio.
Consider child poverty. In Youngstown, Ohio, 68% of children live in married, fatherless homes. Fifty percent of Youngstown children are in poverty.
From there, the data is almost below the line. In Vice President J.D. Vance’s hometown of Middletown, Ohio, 51% of children live in unmarried homes, and 26% of children fall into poverty.
Then there is the new Albany in Ohio, where 91% of the children grow up in married homes, with just 4% child poverty rates. More broadly, what we see is that children in single mothers’ families are four times more likely to be poorer in Ohio than children in married families.
For Doge, and for leaders interested in reducing government size at the federal or state level, child poverty is their tragedy. Poverty children are much more likely to rely on government services for a long time, not just today, but also in the future.
Again, meet Ohio for a case study. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s 2025 budget says the state budget office expects Ohio to receive $25.5 billion from the federal government. .
In fact, family breakdowns are deeply tied to three biggest items in state spending. A typical state budget does three things: education, health and welfare, law and order. They educate, provide medical care, and incarcerate.
One of the big things the government spends is imprisonment. File: Caen Valley State Prison, California (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
88.4% of Ohio’s budget is spent on these three areas, all three being more expensive for taxpayers if the child is not born into the ideal and most stable environment. This is because school failure, child poverty and antisocial behavior are very common for children and families of non-injured families.
Children in non-injured families in Ohio are 72% more likely to contact parents from school teachers or principals for behavioral or learning issues due to behavioral or learning issues. A national survey on child health.
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Included in the hopes and future reports are the first Family Structure Index, ranking all 50 states according to family culture health. The index analyzes demographic and fertility data to find out which states are the strongest, most stable and most sustainable families home.
Naturally, we see relationships between healthy and stable families and the economic well-being of the nation. Seven of the top 10 states on the Family Structure Index are also in the top 10 economic outlooks rankings of the US Legislative Exchange Commission in 2024, analyzing the states with lowest tax and regulatory policies. In other words, one reason is that Utah, Idaho, South Dakota, etc. is that they do very well financially. Financially, they may also have the most powerful family in the country.
For Doge, and for leaders interested in reducing government size at the federal or state level, child poverty is their tragedy. Poverty children are much more likely to rely on government services for a long time, not just today, but also in the future.
Elon Musk, who now oversees Trump’s Doge, has been a great advocate for half of his family’s solutions here. That means you should celebrate your children. However, judging from his own approach to family formation, he does not seem to understand how important marriage is to our children and our country.
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Marriage must be encouraged first to protect these children from poverty and ultimately to prevent them from relying on the government. Not only is this perfect for kids, but over the next few years, the federal and state governments will be much more efficient than mask’s wildest dreams.
Brad Wilcox is a renowned university professor at the University of Virginia, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of “.Get married: Why should Americans defy the elite, build strong families, and save civilization? ”
Aaron Bear is the president of the Christian Virtue Center.
For more information about Brad Wilcox, click here
