Why Marriage Is Failing America's Poor (And Making Inequality Worse)

Why Marriage Is Failing America's Poor (And Making Inequality Worse) Economist Michael Tanner reveals the marriage gap between rich and poor, why rural poverty is worse than urban, and how the collapse of traditional economies is creating a generation of unmarriageable men. Guest: Michael Tanner - Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, author of research on marriage and poverty Topics Discussed: What poverty really means in America Why Scandinavian equality comes with lower living standards The two-class marriage system emerging in America Why women face a "bigger gamble" in marriage than men Rural poverty worse than urban poverty The Arkansas Walmart layoffs and opioid crisis Criminal justice removing 1.5 million Black men from marriage pool Half of Fort Bragg, CA on food assistance Timestamps: 00:01 Introduction - 72% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck 01:24 What is poverty in America? 02:36 Two definitions of poverty - subsistence vs self-sufficiency 05:08 Census Bureau's flawed poverty measurements 07:12 Real destitution affects 3-4% of population 08:18 Teachers living in cars in California 11:16 Social Darwinism vs humanistic approaches to poverty 14:54 The myth of lazy poor people 16:26 Bottom 20% have almost no social mobility 18:03 Living in a world of scarcity 19:02 Could billionaires' wealth solve poverty? 21:43 Marriage and poverty - the white paper 23:53 Why marriage helps men more than women 27:30 Marriage gap between rich and poor 31:01 Rise of single, uneducated men 33:38 Political vulnerability of disconnected men 33:54 Arkansas: Middle-class homes turned to garbage 38:37 Robotics and the future of work 43:15 Fort Bragg: 1,200 families at food bank 47:23 COVID's lasting damage to small towns 50:57 "Poverty is natural - prosperity must be created" Resources: Research: freopp.org/whitepapers/does-marriage-reduce-poverty/ Twitter: @TannerOnPolicy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mindbodyhealthpolitics.org/subscribe