A Marshall Plan for Marriage – Rebuilding Our Shattered Homes

Sarah Torre / June 09, 2011

Marriage in America is in serious trouble. More Americans are cohabitating, fewer are marrying, and if they do wed it is at a much later age than previous generations. Although divorce rates have declined slightly over the past 20 years, pervasive no-fault divorce laws allow marital dissolution to continue plaguing American communities. Four out of 10 children are now born outside of marriage, increasing government dependence by leaving thousands more children without the social and economic stability of married households.

Given the profound impact of intact, married families on child well-being, efforts to encourage and strengthen marriage are urgently needed. Just as the U.S. formulated a plan to help European countries recover after World War II, national leaders should implement a new Marshall Plan – one that rebuilds American homes and restores a culture of marriage. In a new Heritage paper, Senior Research Fellow Chuck Donovan describes the state of marriage in America and outlines a number of principles national leaders can follow to better encourage and support stable families: (more…)