A few years back, there was a proposal that would allow women on welfare to keep their benefits even if they were to get married. I wonder if exchanging wedding rings would really help change bring women and children off welfare.
I think the proponents were hoping that this would make for a more stable family life for people on welfare. They could well be right. According to statistics, 36.8% of births are to unmarried women. Compare this to 5.3% in 1960. Unmarried mothers usually have lower incomes and education levels and are more dependent on welfare assistance.
I don’t think that being unmarried and having a baby dooms you to welfare, however, a large percentage of unmarried mothers have children at young ages and are not able to complete education or find meaningful jobs. Is marriage the answer? Maybe. However, I think the best answer is the wait to have children. Wait until you complete high school. Wait until you know what you want to do with your life.
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