FRC Action: Family Breakdown Must be Addressed to Reverse Economic Decline

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Sep 08, 2011, 02:25 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last night a GOP presidential debate was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and was the first debate for Texas Governor Rick Perry. Tonight, President Barack Obama will offer his jobs proposal to a Joint Session of Congress.

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Family Research Council Action President Tony Perkins responded to the debate and tonight's presidential address with the following remarks:

"Last night, the moderators pressed the candidates for answers to America's high unemployment rate. Tonight, President Obama will offer his long awaited jobs proposal. As the merits of these economic proposals are debated, there must be a realization that our nation's economic decline will not be reversed until we address the elephant in the room -- the breakdown of the family.

"The size of government will never shrink until you strengthen the family. The best economic program is the two-parent family with children. These families will raise children who will drive our nation's future productivity which must steadily increase if we are to reverse economic decline.

"Until the crisis within the family is reversed, America's economic slowdown is only going to increase. The Baby Boom generation has already entered its peak productivity phase. As this generation's skilled workers retire, they are being replaced by a smaller and less productive and less skilled workforce. This can only spell more trouble for America's economy.

"Some argue that technology can replace the declining contributions of the U.S. population and spur the economy, but this has not been achieved historically. A new study by FRC's Marriage & Religion Research Institute concludes that if human capital is falling, we should grow it through education, and the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills in early childhood. A skilled and educated workforce flows most efficiently from the two-parent, stable family that worships together regularly. This is why any economic program must include policies that encourage, and not hinder, family formation and marriage."

The Marriage & Religion Research Institute (MARRI) paper Decline of Economic Growth: Human Capital and Population Change was authored by MARRI senior fellow Henry Potrykus, Ph.D., and MARRI director Patrick Fagan, Ph.D. It can be found online here: http://www.frc.org/marriinteriorpages/decline-of-economic-growth-human-capital-population-change

SOURCE Family Research Council Action