Lessons in the Virtues of Traditional Morality from Communist China?

Tom Sheppard

3/28/2018

In today's Wall Street Journal Opinion Page is an article by Wendy Wang, titled The Sequence is the Secret to Success.

In her article she cites studies in the US and experience in China that pretty authoritatively demonstrate that the formula for rising out of poverty is to go to school, work, get married and then have children, in that order.

The sitcom Murphy Brown glorified the notion of having children out of wedlock, and Dan Quayle foundered on the reef when he, correctly, pointed out that single parenthood is actually a formula for poverty.  The media wouldn't tolerate that story however, and facts notwithstanding, pilloried Quayle for his on-point observations.

Here are a few of Wendy's most powerful facts:

• Among childless and unmarried millenials 28 to 34 who followed the education and work steps, the poverty rate was 8%.

Murphy Brown was a fictional character.  The sitcom writers didn't have to let reality influence the posh lifestyle this single mother enjoyed.  The reality for the overwhelming majority of single parents is constant financial struggle on the edge of poverty and homelessness.

In contrast with those who assert that society and racism hold the keys that keep the poor imprisoned in poverty, Ms. Wang shows that behaviors and choices open the doors out of poverty.

• Among young adults who grew up in low-income families, those who followed all three steps had a poverty rate of only 6%, compared with 35% for their peers who missed one or more steps.

• Eighty percent of those with lower-income backgrounds made it into middle- or upper-income brackets when they followed all three steps, versus only 44% for those who missed one or more steps.

SURPRISE! Following the same old-fashioned notions that were accepted for centuries in the US works to lift people out of poverty, even in the face of those who claim 'the American Dream' is dead.

• Brookings scholars Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill call it the "success sequence": getting at least a high-school diploma, working, and then marrying before having children--again, in that order. ... Following the success sequence is associated with a much lower chance of being poor and much better odds of realizing the American Dream.

One of my personal heroes, Star Parker, has been preaching the solution of personal choice instead of government programs as the path out of poverty for years now.  Her approach flies in the face of the likes of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who never met a government handout they didn't like.  If you are tired of reading the race baiters preach white-guilt, government programs, and income redistribution, you will enjoy her book, Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It.

Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). 

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

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