I’m curious if there are answers to some really basic questions I have on this subject. Firstly, what is defined as a family/household? If a 16 year old has a child (or more) is that now a family/ household, if the father remains present is that a family or household? That 16 year
old (of whatever race by the way) has zero wealth as compared to the couple in their thirties who decide they have the financial stability to create a foundation for a child or children. If a family has a similar income but one has 5 kids and the other has one then the wealth of that next generation is in a sense increased in the hands of the one than the division among five. Are these not decisions people make which will be contributing factors in the options they will have in life and which are also affected by cultural and racial influences? These are questions which seem valid given the comments of (among others) Walter Williams, Shelby Steele and Larry Elder regarding the number of children born outside of marriage or where the father has zero interest, they have pointed out the prevalence of this in poor black communities and if each of these is considered “a household” then it may go some way to explaining part of that 32% vs. 13% negative worth. We have arrived at a point where we have “jokey” expressions such as “baby daddy” which somehow make child abandonment a “cute” thing to do. Where have we come to if (to take a stereotype) polygamy in the mormon community is viewed as strange but a man not taking responsibility for his offspring is viewed as just a funny alley cat? Which of these is actually toxic masculinity/patriarchy and which is someone taking responsibility? I am not Mormon by the way and I do view polygamy as an odd institution but I try to remain consistent by also viewing irresponsible fatherhood and child abandonment
as a far worse lifestyle choice. Having a child or children is a choice, fortunately we live in a society where no end of options are available to avoid pregnancy or to curtail one. From what I understand (again see the names above) 2/3 of black Americans are in the middle class and the wealth of the group as a whole would be the ninth largest economy in the world. If this is correct then we have a far greater problem of lack of distribution of wealth in that community than we have in the country as a whole.
I’m curious if there are answers to some really basic questions I have on this subject. Firstly, what is defined as a family/household? If a 16 year old has a child (or more) is that now a family/ household, if the father remains present is that a family or household? That 16 year
old (of whatever race by the way) has zero wealth as compared to the couple in their thirties who decide they have the financial stability to create a foundation for a child or children. If a family has a similar income but one has 5 kids and the other has one then the wealth of that next generation is in a sense increased in the hands of the one than the division among five. Are these not decisions people make which will be contributing factors in the options they will have in life and which are also affected by cultural and racial influences? These are questions which seem valid given the comments of (among others) Walter Williams, Shelby Steele and Larry Elder regarding the number of children born outside of marriage or where the father has zero interest, they have pointed out the prevalence of this in poor black communities and if each of these is considered “a household” then it may go some way to explaining part of that 32% vs. 13% negative worth. We have arrived at a point where we have “jokey” expressions such as “baby daddy” which somehow make child abandonment a “cute” thing to do. Where have we come to if (to take a stereotype) polygamy in the mormon community is viewed as strange but a man not taking responsibility for his offspring is viewed as just a funny alley cat? Which of these is actually toxic masculinity/patriarchy and which is someone taking responsibility? I am not Mormon by the way and I do view polygamy as an odd institution but I try to remain consistent by also viewing irresponsible fatherhood and child abandonment
as a far worse lifestyle choice. Having a child or children is a choice, fortunately we live in a society where no end of options are available to avoid pregnancy or to curtail one. From what I understand (again see the names above) 2/3 of black Americans are in the middle class and the wealth of the group as a whole would be the ninth largest economy in the world. If this is correct then we have a far greater problem of lack of distribution of wealth in that community than we have in the country as a whole.
Use this link for US Census Bureau definitions of family, household, and other terms they commonly use:
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/subject-definitions.html