The Two-Income Trap - Elizabeth Warren [62]
The predicament of divorced mothers has worsened not because divorce itself is any harder, but because couples today are in worse shape before they split up. Solutions that improve the financial footing of married couples will help divorcing parents by putting them in a stronger position as they embark on their newly separated lives. So, for example, if decent public schools were made available to all children, regardless of the child’s zip code, then the bidding wars for suburban housing would let up and the newly single mother could start off divorced life with a more modest mortgage. She also might be less reluctant to give up the family home and move into a cheaper house if a school choice policy ensured that she wouldn’t be forced to transfer the kids to an unfamiliar—and often inferior—public school. Similarly, if publicly funded preschool were made available to all children, a single mother with young children would have more leeway in her budget.
In addition, policies that encourage personal savings (see chapter 3) and discourage debt (which we’ll discuss in chapter 6) would help both spouses survive the economic aftermath of divorce. If a woman started her divorced life with no credit card debt and some money in the bank, she would have a better chance of holding on to her house and staying out of the bankruptcy courts. And if a father left his marriage on more secure financial footing, he would stand a better chance of making his child support payments and keeping himself and his ex-wife out of bankruptcy. Likewise, policies that expand health insurance and disability coverage would particularly benefit single parents because they are most vulnerable when disaster strikes.
Are there any policies that should single out the single mother? There might be one. As we noted in chapter 2, universal publicly funded day care might have unintended financial consequences, some of which would be particularly negative for the traditional single-breadwinner two-parent family. But the government could play another role in taking care of youngsters: free (or subsidized) child care for the children of single parents. This would give the newly single mother an immediate, much-needed financial leg up, improving her chances of competing in a two-income world. And it would do so without increasing the pressure on two-parent families to send both adults to work.
During the past generation, the single mother has come into her own politically. Nearly 10 million strong, these women are no longer shunned by politicians and religious leaders. They star in sitcoms, they are featured in congressional debates, and they help swing elections. But their economic fortunes—or misfortunes—are treated as something that begin the day their marriages end. Politicians build up political capital by loudly proclaiming their support for these women, while their ex-husbands either disappear from the story or are vilified as deadbeats who don’t care about their children. In our view, all that noise just diverts attention from any meaningful changes that could actually improve the lot of middle-class mothers and fathers.
Current views of the economics of divorce accomplish little more than stoking a tired old battle between the sexes. The laws have been changed, and child support orders, while not perfect, are now reasonably well enforced for millions of middle-class families. It is time for a fresh approach to improving the circumstances of all middle-class parents, married and single alike.
6
The Cement Life Raft
In May 1998, First Lady Hillary Clinton was the star attraction at a Boston fund-raiser for candidates who supported women’s issues. The lineup was impressive: she stood shoulder to shoulder with a half dozen congresswomen, including Nancy Pelosi and Sheila Jackson Lee, arguably among the most powerful female politicians in America at the time. Mrs. Clinton was in her element, vibrant and hard-hitting in front of an almost all-woman audience that applauded her every sentence. Her speech was part policy (federal subsidies