Fox News host Tucker Carlson started the new year with an intense monologue on the problems facing American families and the integral role families play as a foundation for American society. His blunt commentary sparked conversations on both sides but particularly on the right.
Responding to critics on Monday, Carlson cited a rather unlikely source to buttress his defense — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) — who wrote a book in 2003 lamenting many of the same issues faces middle class families.
Working mothers have proven detrimental to families
“Back in 2003, Warren was still a Harvard professor. That year she published a book, written with her daughter, entitled, ‘The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke,’” said Carlson.
“The central thesis of the book was that the mass entry of mothers into the workforce has been a disaster for families, and most of all for women,” he continued. “Mothers who work have to spend far more time away from their kids, which for many isn’t liberating so much as it’s deeply sad.”
“As Warren points out, you’d think families would be much richer with two parents working. That hasn’t happened. Virtually all of the income gains have been consumed in an arms race to maintain the status quo. Most things in American life are cheaper than they were 50 years ago, except for the things that middle-class families need most,” Carlson said.
“These are all much more expensive: Health care, daycare, college tuition, housing in places with good public schools,” he noted. “Buying these things now requires two incomes, rather than one. That puts a strain on families in which both parents work. It absolutely crushes single-parent households.”
Consequences of two-income focused society
Carlson proceeded to read a direct passage from Warren’s book:
A generation ago, a single breadwinner who worked diligently and spent carefully could assure his family a comfortable position in the middle class. But the frenzied bidding wars, fueled by families with two incomes, changed the game for single-income families as well, pushing them down the economic ladder.
To keep Mom at home, the average single-income family must forfeit decent public schools and preschools, health insurance, and college degrees, leaving themselves and their children with a tenuous hold on their middle-class dreams. Such pressures have taken these women out of the home and away from their children and simultaneously made family life less, not more, financially secure. Today’s middle-class mother is trapped: She can’t afford to work, and she can’t afford not to.
The Fox host reiterated that these words came from Warren, not a group of Mennonites or “some Christian right think-tank,” and proceeded to lay out the dire consequences that Warren herself had noted just 15 years ago: “More families go broke. This increases the rate of domestic abuse, divorce, and broken homes. Some people simply decide not to have children at all.”
Warren can’t say the same today
Carlson read another relevant quote from Warren’s book:
Many view parenthood as nothing more than another ‘lifestyle choice,’ not so different from joining a commune or developing a passion for windsurfing, but it isn’t true for society at large. What happens to a nation that rewards the childless and penalizes the parents? If middle-class men and women stop making that parental lifestyle choice, who will care for them in their old age? Who will pay taxes, build infrastructure, and keep the economy afloat? And most important, who will populate the great middle class of America’s future?
“Again, and we can’t say this enough: Elizabeth Warren wrote that. Not in 1936, but in 2003. The modern era. We had jet planes and frozen yogurt. Elizabeth Warren said that out loud. Nobody seemed to mind,” stated Carlson. “She’d never say that today. It’s not allowed, like so much else that’s true and important.”
“We’d love to talk to Warren about her book anytime,” he added. “Obviously, she won’t come on. She can’t talk about the things she believed 10 years ago. No modern Democrat can. They can’t say that protecting and encouraging married, two-parent families ought to be the goal. That’s not their base anymore.”
[show_poll poll_id=1244]
These are uncomfortable truths about our society that most people recognize but nobody wants to talk about. That the support for Carlson’s thesis comes from a prominent hero on the left, Elizabeth Warren, proves that these issues transcend partisan politics, even as partisan politics make the issues worse.
915 Responses
You really make it appear so easy together with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually one thing which I believe I’d never understand. It kind of feels too complicated and extremely extensive for me. I’m taking a look ahead in your subsequent submit, I will try to get the grasp of it!|
Để thực hiện được bài bác tập này thì bạn phải phải biết được thời điểm hưng phấn là ở nút nào.
Needed to put you the little bit of word to finally give thanks yet again for those marvelous knowledge you’ve shown here. It was simply extremely generous of people like you to convey freely all that some people might have advertised as an electronic book to help with making some dough for their own end, principally since you might have done it if you decided. Those suggestions in addition worked to be a great way to comprehend other individuals have similar zeal the same as mine to grasp very much more with regards to this problem. I am sure there are many more pleasant situations ahead for individuals who take a look at your site.
Wow, great blog post.Much thanks again. Will read on…
Hello! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group? There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thanks|
Hello i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anyplace, when i read this paragraph i thought i could also make comment due to this sensible paragraph.|
As I site possessor I believe the content matter here is rattling excellent , appreciate it for your efforts. You should keep it up forever! Good Luck.
Fantastic article post.Thanks Again.
Great blog article.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog article.Thanks Again. Want more.
Thanks a lot for the post.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
You need to be a part of a contest for one of the best sites on the net. I will recommend this website!|
Really informative blog.Much thanks again.
Hey, thanks for the post. Keep writing.
A big thank you for your post.Thanks Again. Want more.
This is one awesome article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.
If you need a affordable plumber call Winston Salem Plumbing Pros, 111 N Chestnut St, Winston Salem, NC 27101
This is really interesting, You are a very professional blogger. I have joined your feed and look ahead to searching for more of your magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!
Muchos Gracias for your post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
Really appreciate you sharing this blog.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog post.Much thanks again. Cool.
Excellent blog here! Also your website loads up very fast! What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Thanks for the blog article.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Thanks so much for the blog.Much thanks again. Want more.
Very neat article.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
Great, thanks for sharing this article.
I value the article.Really thank you! Keep writing.
wow, awesome blog.Much thanks again. Fantastic.
Im thankful for the blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog. Cool.
Really appreciate you sharing this blog article.Much thanks again. Want more.
I truly appreciate this post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Appreciate you sharing, great post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Really informative blog post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Awesome article.
I loved your post.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
I cannot thank you enough for the blog post. Cool.
Im grateful for the article post.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
862570 198871Im so happy to read this. This really is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the accidental misinformation thats at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc. 510463