OPINION:
When my colleagues at The Heritage Foundation released a major report titled “Saving America by Saving the Family,” they expected pushback from the political left.
Even so, the level of hysteria from some critics has been remarkable.
Radical feminists are always willing to dust off their “The Handmaid’s Tale” cosplay outfits and cry that yet another evil entity is burdening women. Yet if you take a moment to read even the introduction for the “Saving America” plan, you will find zero mention of forcing women into narrow paths that they don’t want.
Quite the opposite. As the authors write: “First, and obviously, an ideal policy should respect the freedom and agency of adults and the independence of families from both the state and other people. Families exist freely for themselves, with their own rights and duties, and not merely as a benefit to society.”
If increasing families and encouraging them to have more children is the goal, then naturally, Heritage would delve into policy solutions that make it easier for Americans to get married, own a home and start a family. It sounds simple because it is.
Conservatives have the facts on our side. Reams of empirical data prove that marriage is one of the surest paths out of poverty and government dependence. It also improves the well-being of adults, children and society as a whole.
Of course, for the pro-abortion crowd, marriage and motherhood are nothing more than “misogynist control” of women. Never mind that young women still want to get married but often feel pessimistic about a variety of factors within and outside their control.
Despite the naysaying of doom and gloom, married women with children report higher levels of happiness than either single mothers or single women with no children.
Far from telling women not to work, the Heritage report encourages policies that allow women more flexibility in their work. Work and family are not substitutes. They coexist, but the media and society too often prioritize women working outside the home over women working in the home, raising their children.
The report also notes that Americans should be free to choose higher education, provided they work for it to get into college and to fund it.
To be sure, Heritage scholars argue against overcredentialism, which is the attainment of degrees for jobs that historically have not required them. Removing the structures in higher education and certain federal subsidies that underpin overcredentialism would not stop women from earning college degrees.
In fact, it would give them more career choices and possibly help them avoid taking on student loan debt altogether. Many women feel trapped by student loan debt and stuck in low-paying jobs that don’t require the degrees they earned.
Before feminists cry about the injustice of solutions that benefit only married couples, Heritage’s suggested Newlywed Early Starter Trust account, which would work similarly to the popular Trump Accounts, would be available as future retirement support for Americans who do not marry.
The best the left has to offer about the Heritage report is fearmongering and outright lies, but as a mother of a young girl, I see these suggested reforms as giving my daughter, and millions of other girls like her, more opportunities in the future.
• Marguerite Bowling is a senior communications manager at The Heritage Foundation.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.