News

American Men Are in Trouble. Marriage and Family Are the Answer

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)

September 14, 2023

Institute for Family Studies

American men are struggling in the workforce, in the classroom, and at home. Millions of men have left the workforce altogether…. Record-high rates of addiction, sadness, anxiety, and suicide have followed…. [O]ne cause is especially nefarious: the decades-long, nationwide breakdown of marriage and family.

Starting in the 1960s and 70s, a series of cultural and social revolutions rocked the country…. The effects were [most] striking and harmful for poor and working-class Americans, for whom marriage all but collapsed…. 

[Without families of their own, m]en have lost the drive to work, and without involved fathers, many boys have grown up with low self-worth and poor self-understanding. Self-destructive, antisocial behaviors come readily in tow….

If we want to help men recover their role as providers, we need to eliminate undue obstacles that are pushing them in other directions. This means getting rid of marriage penalties in the tax code…. It means guaranteeing paid family leave by allowing new parents to “pull forward” Social Security benefits. And it means expanding the federal Child Tax Credit….

The next step is to pave the way for more flexible work arrangements between parents. There is no reason why the government should incentivize fathers and mothers to both work full-time, especially since the more traditional “breadwinner” model remains the preference of the working class….

If we do not give men the opportunity to work, marry, and succeed, we can expect further stagnation in their fortunes and further alienation between the sexes…. I hope my office’s report will prompt more conversation and action on this important topic, because millions of Americans are counting on it.

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