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PUBLIC CONVERSATION See the most recent event held in our Center for Public Conversation: Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves A Conversation on November 10 with Sheldon Garon, Nissan Professor of History and East Asian Studies at Princeton University, on his book "Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves." Hosted by Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Director of the John Templeton Center for Thrift and Generosity at the Institute for American Values. Find out what we can learn from East Asian and European countries that have fostered enduring cultures of thrift over the past two centuries. Upcoming conversations at our Center for Public Conversation: December 8, 2011, "When Baby Makes Three: How Parenthood Makes Life Meaningful & How Marriage Makes Parenthood Bearable" New York, NY A Conversation with coauthors of the State of Our Unions 2011, When Baby Makes Three, W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, University of Virginia and Elizabeth Marquardt, director of the Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values. January, 2012, "Is Casino Gambling a Good Bet for New York State?" New York, NY A Conversation with Barbara Whitehead, Director of the John Templeton Center for Thrift and Generosity at the Institute for American Values; Les Bernal, Executive Director of the Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation; and Paul Davies, Maggie Walker Fellow in Thrift and Generosity at the Institute for American Values; hosted by David Blankenhorn, President of the Institute for American Values. In a mad rush for revenue, state after state is legalizing casinos and expanding lotteries. With the opening of the Aqueduct racino, New York is joining the stampede. Please join our distinguished panel in a conversation about role of government in promoting gambling as a sure-fire jobs-and-economic development strategy. CENTER FOR THRIFT & GENEROSITY A Way to Tell the Banks 'No Thanks' Andrew Yarrow, Baltimore Sun, November 3, 2011 Institute senior fellow Andrew Yarrow--who is writing an Institute report on the history of the early 20th century thrift movement--argues in an op-ed that "it might make sense for you to take your money and run -- directly to the nearest credit union." He goes on to suggest that "putting our money in more community-based institutions that actually care about us and want to meet our needs, may be just what the doctor ordered. It could improve our own financial well-being, inject some real competition into financial services, and help rebuild the nation's economy on sounder, thriftier foundations." Uncle Sam Wants You -- To Spend Quentin Fottrell, Wall Street Journal blog Pay Dirt, November 23, 2011 "As shoppers and retailers get ready for Black Friday, a new book says Americans could learn a lesson from more prudent first-world countries like Germany. In 'Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves,' [Institute friend] Sheldon Garon, a professor of history at Princeton University, says Americans are actively encouraged to spend." Why We Spend, Why They Save Sheldon Garon, New York Times, November 24, 2011 "Unlike the United States, the thrifty societies of Europe have long histories of encouraging the broad populace to save. During the 19th century, European reformers and governments became preoccupied with creating prudent citizens. Civic groups founded hundreds of savings banks that enabled the masses to save by accepting small deposits." How America Can Start Saving Again Josh Rothman, Boston Globe, November 28, 2011 "Here in America, the culture of thrift became central to our identity. It was given a uniquely American stamp by Benjamin Franklin, and continually reaffirmed all the way through the Second World War, when families were encouraged to save and buy war bonds. What happened? Here in America, we stopped practicing what [Institute friend] Sheldon Garon calls 'moral suasion' when it came to saving; as a society, we decided to focus on spending, with increasing government emphasis on the democratization of credit." MARRIAGE AND FAMILIES Institute president David Blankenhorn and Brookings scholar Jonathan Rauch published a notable and timely opinion piece, "Foes Agree to Agree on Gay Marriage." Foes Agree to Agree on Gay Marriage David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch, Bloomberg, November 7, 2011 "Ours is an unusual friendship. One of us is a gay man who has written a book in favor of gay marriage. The other is a straight man who has written a book opposing gay marriage. One of us argues that the advent of gay marriage could help to strengthen marriage as a social institution. The other warns that accepting gay marriage is likely to weaken the institution for everyone. Not much to agree about. But here's an interesting thing: Both of us are married, and both of us live or work in political jurisdictions -- New York state and Washington, D.C. -- that define marriage as the union of two persons. So we recently asked ourselves a question: What does it mean for us to disagree about gay marriage, now that gay marriage is the law where we make our homes and pursue our livelihoods?" Our report One Parent or Five: A Global Look at Today's New Intentional Families continues to stir debate. Principal investigator Elizabeth Marquardt published two pieces based on the report: Get Ready for Group Marriage Elizabeth Marquardt, Huffington Post, November 15, 2011 "Is the prospect of group marriage far-fetched? Probably not. There are several avenues that could soon lead to legal recognition of unions involving three or more people. The efforts come from the fringes of the left, from the darkest corners of the fundamentalist right, and from the laboratories of fertility clinics and hard scientists around the world." And read responses at Andrew Sullivan's blog The Dish, Rod Dreher's blog at The American Conservative, and the First Things blog First Thoughts. Is Intentional Parenthood Good for Children? Elizabeth Marquardt, BioNews, November 7, 2011 "For now, the main point is this: the value of intentional parenthood is not a settled question, but rather a hotly contested one. With growing numbers of children being deliberately denied a relationship with at least one of their parents, the stories of today's donor conceived adults are just the tip of the iceberg." and at least two critiques were published online by others: Marquardt's Off the Mark Susan Kane, BioNews, November 14, 2011 "I have no doubt that Elizabeth Marquardt's report reflects the feelings of the donor-conceived people that she studied. However, since true scientific study of donor-conceived people is not currently possible, her claims must be qualified." More Dubious Research from the Institute for American Values Claude J. Summers, GLBTQ.com, November 2, 2011 "David Blankenhorn's Institute for American Values has issued a highly dubious report entitled One Parent or Five? A Global Look at Today's New Intentional Families. The report by 'principal investigator' Elizabeth Marquardt relies more on hearsay than on any recognizable social sciences methodology, and is more revealing of the Institute's anti-gay agenda and its rejection of novel family configurations than anything else." Marquardt responded to Susan Kane and other critics during a live web debate at FamilyScholars.org. Our 2010 issue of State of Our Unions: When Marriage Disappears continues to gain wide attention in the media. While not explicitly cited it was clearly part of the background research for a recent column by David Brooks: The Wrong Inequality David Brooks, New York Times, October 31, 2011 "In the 1970s, high school and college grads had very similar family structures. Today, college grads are much more likely to get married, they are much less likely to get divorced and they are much, much less likely to have a child out of wedlock. . . . The zooming wealth of the top 1 percent is a problem, but it's not nearly as big a problem as the tens of millions of Americans who have dropped out of high school or college. It's not nearly as big a problem as the 40 percent of children who are born out of wedlock. It's not nearly as big a problem as the nation's stagnant human capital, its stagnant social mobility and the disorganized social fabric for the bottom 50 percent." And it was recently treated by National Review editor Rich Lowry in a piece in Commentary: Optimistic or Pessimistic about America Rich Lowry, Commentary, November 11, 2011 "What makes me pessimistic about our future is what nearly no one talks about: the breakdown of marriage and associated bourgeois institutions and virtues in what sociologist [and Institute senior fellow] Brad Wilcox calls 'the solid middle' -- those Americans, representing 58 percent of the adult population, who have graduated from high school but don't have a four-year college degree." Finally, our recent report, Second Chances: A Proposal to Reduce Unnecessary Divorce, presented to U.S. state legislatures, is sparking proposals and discussion in states across the nation: New AZ Law Urges Couples to Think Twice About Divorce Jim Cross, KTAR, November 9, 2011 "Former Georgia Chief Justice Leah Sears is pushing for a nationwide 'Second Chances Act' to curb unnecessary divorce. It would include a one-year waiting period, along with more parenting education." Divorce Reform Legislation Proposed North Carolina Family Policy Council, November 4, 2011 "'This proposal contains a number of excellent recommendations for reforming divorce in the United States, and we are excited to see a national initiative of this magnitude launched that also includes an education component for couples with minor children who are on the brink of divorce,' said Alysse ElHage, associate director of research at the North Carolina Family Policy Council. 'We have proposed a number of similar recommendations that are contained in the 'Second Chances Act,' including extending North Carolina's waiting period for divorce from one to two years and requiring divorce education for married couples with children, and we hope that lawmakers in North Carolina will consider the proposed model legislation in this report and work toward implementing some of the needed changes to divorce law in our state.'" Second Chances Act and the State of Marriage Today Naomi Schaefer Riley, Philanthropy Daily, 11/9/2011 "Last week, Former Georgia Chief Justice Leah Sears and family relations scholar Professor William Doherty released a proposal to reduce 'unnecessary divorce' called the Second Chances Act. The act is model legislation that requires couples to take a one-year waiting period before obtaining a divorce." How to Create More Intact Families Mike McManus, Coldwater Daily Reporter, October 31, 2011 "Last week a proposal was made for a 'Second Chances Act,' based on research which reports that about 60 percent of divorces are by couples who are no more unhappy than those who remain married and have 'low levels of conflict.' Further, new research by University of Minnesota Prof. William Doherty surveyed 2,500 couples and found that 40 percent of those well into the divorce process, say that 'one or both of them are interested in the possibility of reconciliation.'" A Second Chance for Marriage Fr. John Flynn, Zenit, November 18, 2011 "The destructive consequences of marriage breakdowns are well-known. A recent report published by the Institute for American Values provided some suggestions on how to reduce this heavy toll. 'Second Chances: A Proposal to Reduce Unnecessary Divorce' . . . if implemented, should help to reduce divorce numbers, a result that would only be of benefit to many people and to society as a whole." Second Chances Act Could Change the Divorce Process Michigan Divorce blog, November 7, 2011 "Designers of the Second Chances Act say it is not meant to replace divorce, but create an option similar to divorce mediation that could potentially repair marriages. Delayed divorce, under the proposal, would give couples with low conflict levels the opportunity and time to reconcile. It will be interesting to see if lawmakers in Michigan consider implementing the act." |
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