Study: Broken homes cost U.S. billions
Study by the Institute for American Values says people from broken homes make more use of government services, like Medicaid. Others say the money is well spent. John Dimsdale reports from Washington, D.C.
Sign outside Medicaid political forum (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Renita Jablonski: Here's something to consider on this tax day: A new study estimates divorce and unwed childbearing cost taxpayers $112 billion every year. John Dimsdale has more from Washington.
John Dimsdale: Sponsored by the Institute for American Values, the report finds people from broken homes make more use of government programs. Georgia College economics professor Ben Scafidi is the report's author.
Ben Scafidi: They're more likely to use Medicaid. More likely to use school nutrition programs. They're more likely to go to jail.
Scafidi says public policies that promote marriage could reduce the taxpayer cost of divorce and out-of-wedlock births. But University of Michigan economist Rebecca Blank says it's wrong to think that money is ill-spent.
Rebecca Blank: Divorce and family break up are a fact of life in this society and not one that is going to go away anytime soon. We need to do some things to make sure that the children and families that come out of that situation are helped.
The report's sponsors say businesses should adopt more family-friendly employee benefits to help families stay together.
In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace.
