Make money doing the work you believe in
Social scientists have demonstrated, with one study after another, that one factor stands out above all others in predicting a child’s future prospects. Not race, not parental income, not IQ, not location. No other factor comes close.
A child who is raised by his married parents is, statistically, far more likely to be healthy, to succeed in school, to avoid legal trouble, to find and keep a good job, to steer clear of drug abuse, and eventually to marry and stay married himself.
In 1960, the Heritage Foundation reminds us in its 2026 Index of Culture and Opportunity, only 5% of American children were born out of wedlock. Today that figure is 40%.
The rate of out-of-wedlock birth is even higher among women who are poor, less educated, and/or members of racial minority groups. Which means that their children are even less likely to escape the cycle of poverty.
Every government program designed to fight poverty should be judged by its impact on that one uber-statistic: Does it promote marriage.
Faithful marriage is the best anti-poverty program there is. It isn’t close.