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> The middle class is decreasing mainly because of divorce and thus the creation of single parent homes Citation needed. What, exactly, is the magnitude of th

by SamBam 10y ago

> The middle class is decreasing mainly because of divorce and thus the creation of single parent homes Citation needed. What, exactly, is the magnitude of the effect of single-parent homes on the size of the middle class? Without answering that, your "gut instinct" explanation, if that's what it is, is meaningless.

WillPostForFood 10y ago
There is plenty of data showing the negative income effects of divorce and single parent households. One major conclusion of their research is that the family income of children whose parents divorce and remain divorced for at least six years falls by 40 to 45 percent. http://www.nber.org/digest/jul02/w8786.html http://www.nber.org/digest/jul02/w8786.html As per the Census Bureau (table F-10), in 2014, married couple families with one or more children under 18 years, earned an average income of $111,278. In other words, traditional two-parent families earned an income that was more than three times higher than for households headed by a single mother. http://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnamathur/2015/11/18/the-cost-of-being-a-single-mother/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnamathur/2015/11/18/the-cost...
- SamBam 10y ago
  That doesn't answer my question at all. Saying that the income of a single-parent family is lower does not remotely answer the question of "What is the magnitude of the effect of single-parent homes on the size of the middle class?" I actually went and looked up the tables in the census: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/children.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families... We have the same percentage of single parent families now as in 1995 (29%). That's over 20 years, the number has barely budged. So how does your answer relate to the question of the decline of the middle class since then?

by SamBam 10y ago

WillPostForFood 10y ago

There is plenty of data showing the negative income effects of divorce and single parent households. One major conclusion of their research is that the family income of children whose parents divorce and remain divorced for at least six years falls by 40 to 45 percent. http://www.nber.org/digest/jul02/w8786.html http://www.nber.org/digest/jul02/w8786.html As per the Census Bureau (table F-10), in 2014, married couple families with one or more children under 18 years, earned an average income of $111,278. In other words, traditional two-parent families earned an income that was more than three times higher than for households headed by a single mother. http://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnamathur/2015/11/18/the-cost-of-being-a-single-mother/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/aparnamathur/2015/11/18/the-cost...

SamBam 10y ago
That doesn't answer my question at all. Saying that the income of a single-parent family is lower does not remotely answer the question of "What is the magnitude of the effect of single-parent homes on the size of the middle class?" I actually went and looked up the tables in the census: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families/children.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/families... We have the same percentage of single parent families now as in 1995 (29%). That's over 20 years, the number has barely budged. So how does your answer relate to the question of the decline of the middle class since then?