Family breakdowns costs society millions

Family breakdowns including divorce, unwed mothers, and absentee fathers are costing millions to society according to a new study.

A senior family division judge for England and Wales, Justice Paul Coleridge, accused mothers and fathers who fail to commit to each other of engaging in a game of "pass the partner" that has left millions of children "scarred for life."

Seem dramatic? Maybe so, but it is true. According to the US Census Bureau, 29.1% of women who had a birth in 2004 were not married and that half of such unmarried mothers were living below the poverty level. This compared with 12% of married women at the poverty level. Too often, the failure to commit leaves children without a father, without stability, and without money.

And who picks up the tab? You and me. The societal cost of unwed mothers and divorced families is estimated to cost taxpayers at least $112 billion per year. A 1% reduction in family fragmentation would save taxpayers an estimated $1.1 billion per year.