Culture & Opportunity
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2016 INDEX OF Culture & Opportunity The Social and Economic Trends that Shape America INSTITUTE FOR Edited by FAMILY, COMMUNITY, Jennifer A. Marshall AND OPPORTUNITY Rachel Sheffield 2016 INDEX OF Culture & Opportunity The Social and Economic Trends that Shape America © 2016 by The Heritage Foundation 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 546-4400 | heritage.org All rights reserved. Cover Photo © istockphoto.com Printed in the United States of America. 2016 INDEX OF Culture & Opportunity The Social and Economic Trends that Shape America Edited by Jennifer A. Marshall Rachel Sheffield The 2016 Index of Culture and Opportunity is dedicated to Richard and Helen DeVos, whose years of dedication to building the institutional capacity for research on religion and civil society at The Heritage Foundation have made this project possible. Contents Contributors .................................................................................................................................................................. xi Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................................. xiii Preface Jim DeMint ..................................................................................................................................................................xv Executive Summary Jennifer A. Marshall and Rachel Sheffield ............................................................................................................... 1 Introduction Michael Novak .............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Section One: Culture Culture Summary ...................................................................................................................................................15 Culture and the Challenge of Self-Government Scott Yenor ............................................................................................................................................................17 A Generation Conflicted About Marriage Amber and David Lapp .......................................................................................................................................20 Divorce in Our Nation Julie Baumgardner ...............................................................................................................................................22 Having Children Helps—Not Hurts—Our Future Mollie Ziegler Hemingway ..................................................................................................................................24 Reinvigorating Family Life: Critical to Restoring Opportunity Eric Cochling .........................................................................................................................................................26 Teen Drug Use: Cultural Amnesia, Current Harm Seth Leibsohn .......................................................................................................................................................28 Responding to the Sexual Revolution with Love and Fidelity Caitlin La Ruffa .....................................................................................................................................................30 Pro-Life Convictions, Lower Demand for Abortions Randall Wenger ....................................................................................................................................................32 Religiosity and the Future of Freedom Daniel Mark............................................................................................................................................................34 Improving the Quantity and Quality of America’s Volunteerism Brian Fikkert ..........................................................................................................................................................36 Families, Churches, and Crime Prevention Ken Blackwell ........................................................................................................................................................38 Section Two: Poverty & Dependence Poverty & Dependence Summary ....................................................................................................................47 The Promise of Hope and Opportunity The Honorable Sam Brownback ........................................................................................................................49 Innovations in Training for the American Labor Force Jo Kwong ...............................................................................................................................................................52 Attacking the Roots of Child Poverty Kevin D. Dayaratna...............................................................................................................................................54 Showing the Way to Self-Sufficiency Tarren Bragdon .....................................................................................................................................................56 The Welfare System’s Perverse Incentives Undermine Self-Sufficiency Jay Wesley Richards ............................................................................................................................................58 Our "Lake Wobegon" Public Housing Policy Robert Rector .......................................................................................................................................................60 How Intentional Design Increased Dependence on Food Stamps and Undermined Work Mary C. Mayhew ...................................................................................................................................................62 American Principles Lead to Opportunity for All Timothy Jeffries ....................................................................................................................................................64 Most Work-Eligible Welfare Recipients Are Not Working Rachel Sheffield ....................................................................................................................................................66 Section Three: General Opportunity General Opportunity Summary.........................................................................................................................75 Ensuring the Opportunity to Choose a Promising Future Diana Furchtgott-Roth ........................................................................................................................................77 Time to Turn the Page on Stagnant Reading Achievement Derrell Bradford ....................................................................................................................................................80 Charter Schools: Expanding Educational Opportunity for All Nina Rees ...............................................................................................................................................................82 The Overlooked Relationship between Private School Choice and Charter Growth Jay P. Greene ........................................................................................................................................................84 Graduation Rates Are Up, But Not College Preparedness Andy Smarick ........................................................................................................................................................86 Student Loan Debt Richard Vedder .....................................................................................................................................................88 Employment Has Value Beyond a Paycheck James Sherk ..........................................................................................................................................................90 What the Unemployment Rate Isn’t Telling Us William W. Beach .................................................................................................................................................92 Job Openings Signal Optimism, But Hiring Lags Behind Mark Wilson ...........................................................................................................................................................94 Job Hires Rate Slow to Recover Rea S. Hederman, Jr. ...........................................................................................................................................96 Making Washington Work for Women and Their Families Sabrina L. Schaeffer.............................................................................................................................................98 The Waning Culture of American Entrepreneurship Ryan Streeter ..................................................................................................................................................... 100 Regulatory Barriers to Reaching the Middle Class Salim Furth ......................................................................................................................................................... 102 The Cultural Conditions of Prosperity Alejandro A. Chafuen ....................................................................................................................................... 104 Supplementary