with more mothers working, more single and same-sex parents, and the rise of more intensive parenting.
That idea is interesting, but kind of makes sense. As different forms of families emerged instead of the stereotypical housewife, two children, working husband, families have become a more political "debate."
Some families qualify for fewer federal benefits that help the working poor, like the earned-income tax credit and Medicaid, if the parents marry.
That's interesting. I wonder why marital status would effect something like health care and financial ease if both the parents were below the poverty line.
like helping parents support their children financially and keeping their children healthy.
There is some consensus between the left and the right.
He worries that the politicization of the family is bad for policymaking. As the family becomes a culturally loaded symbol, evocative of everything and used to justify anything, it becomes harder to devise real policies that address real needs
That is understandable. I think that if it continually becomes more and more politicized, where every action can somehow be justified with the fact that it is "pro-family" it won't actually be that beneficial overall to find the real root of problems and the things that the government should actually spend their time on.
As the left sees it, government plays an essential role protecting and supporting families, through programs like Medicaid or a higher minimum wage. To the right, it seems government too often burdens families, who need lower taxes and less regulation.
There's also a political divide as well.
welfare systems, often just as abruptly as at the border. Some parents struggle to support children without federal policies like paid family leave and subsidized child care that are offered in other countries.
It's interesting how American values are often family-based, however, politically they focus less on average families.
Families make powerful symbols, valuable to politicians and revered by voters. But American policies are inconsistent and weak, relative to many countries, in supporting them.
Interesting.