The impact tax policy has on marriage and family life in these United States is a very significant public policy issue that, too often, escapes the notice of Christians. The just state will avoid or repeal taxes that discourage marriage, a family wage, full-time motherhood, and childbearing. But who hopes for changes specifically designed to encourage these good things in the present day? What a dream, right?
Well, not to my friend Robert Patterson who today published a piece on NRO calling on presidential candidate John McCain to implement tax policies modeled after the historic tax cuts of 1948. Patterson describes the radical impact those cuts had on marriage and family in mid-century America...
...the 1948 Revenue Act contributed to a turnaround — between 1945 and 1963 — of social indicators... Not only did marriage rates rise, but the proportion of adults reaping the joys of marital bliss hit a record: 95 percent of Americans coming of age then would tie the knot. Marital fertility rates doubled between 1944 and 1957, raising average family size from two to nearly four children, securing baby boomers a wealth of siblings and cousins and their progeny a wealth of aunts and uncles. Also good for the younger set, the divorce rate declined for the first time in history, reaching a low of about 9 divorces per 1,000 married women in 1958.
I don't vote for a county dog catcher who's not pro-life, but if I did, tax policy's impact on marriage and family life would be at the top of my patriotic conerns. And there's no better source for the interface between public policy and marriage and family life than the excellent publications of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society where Patterson is an adjunct research fellow. For many years now, my schooling on these issues has come from their monthly monograph, The Family in America. And the summary of research that accompanies it each month is also invaluable. If you don't already, subscribe now. Particularly if you're a pastor or elder. It's invaluable.
