To begin with, society — from parents and teachers to celebrities and political figures — should send a clear and consistent message of personal responsibility to children. They should herald the "success sequence": finish schooling, get a job, get married, have babies. Census data show that if all Americans finished high school, worked full time at whatever job they then qualified for with their education, and married at the same rate as Americans had married in 1970, the poverty rate would be cut by around 70% — without additional government spending. No welfare program, however amply funded, could ever hope for anything approaching such success

 

This is from a Brookings fellow, Ron Haskins, wrote a piece entitled “Getting Ahead in America”.  He is also a consultant to Annie E. Casey Foundation.

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