In
this and previous installments on this blog site we attempt to put a small
frame around the expansive topic of family stability. We now come to a
controversial juncture.
The Lifestyle Variable
Income parallels family stability.
Family stability parallels lifestyle. That is, some lifestyles are more
conducive to family stability than others. It is important to repeat that the
relationship among these three factors (money, lifestyle and stability) plus
other factors is not an easy cause-and-effect. That is, we cannot say that
because there is a strong association between a specific lifestyle and
stability, a change in lifestyle automatically causes more stability or less
stability.
Further, we recognize that people do not
wake up each morning and choose a lifestyle. It is like one’s spirituality.
Despite what the self-help gurus imply, one’s spirituality is to a significant
degree conditioned by one’s heritage, by the surrounding culture and by many
experiences. A lifestyle too is in part an imitation or rejection of one’s
parental example, an imitation or rejection of one’s cultural environment and a
continuation of or break with one’s many experiences.
And finally—because this is
controversial—this essay does not measure love; as if anyone can do so. All
types of families cherish their members and love their children. Just as sadly,
all types and income levels of families are capable of callousness; a parent in
any income bracket can be distant from his or her children.
Family living arrangements or lifestyles
can include a two-parent married family, two-parent non-married family,
one-parent family with one partner for that parent, one-parent family with
multiple partners for the parent and more. Upper economic class families, for
the most part, are of the two-parent married type and, as this essay shows,
those families are relatively stable over the years. The median income for one
of these married-couple families, presuming each parent is employed at least
part-time, is $104,000. Many families in the lower economic categories are
likely to be two-parent non-married families or one-parent families. These
families have greater degree and duration of instability.
Interestingly,
the education gap is a mirror image of this family stability index. In excess
of 90% of college graduates use the institution of marriage and those families
tend to be relatively stable. Those who lack a degree do not always marry. These
families have higher instability.
The
non-married type of lifestyle has been increasing. In fact, last year the
majority of living arrangements in the United States were between unmarried
couples. Interestingly too, there is no longer a race gap when it comes to
marriage. That is, white families now have a percentage of non-married or
single heads of the household that approximates the percentage among black
families.
And
as our chart to
follow will show, a clear majority of Americans are economically stressed.
A
Political Variable; Maybe Not
Pundits incessantly speak and write
about a polarized citizenry. Our chart provides strong basis for a proposition
that the polarization is not so much driven by cultural
philosophies, as it is by economic insecurity. The number of Americans who are economically stressed continues to grow. Outsider political candidates
will continue to appeal to the economically stressed. Yet, so-called Beltway
insiders and many pundits dismiss these outsider challengers. That is because
they are not really in touch with the financial realities facing a majority of
Americans.
To repeat once more: Our chart (in the next installment of
this series) shows that economic stress visits the majority of
families—sometimes almost constantly.
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