Scott Miller

Last week, we agreed to continue the discussion about single parenthood and poverty in Maine.

But there has also been a fair amount of demand to revisit the election results and discuss the implications.

Be prepared to discuss one or both!

This week, we plan to discuss single mothers and their children in Maine. Both the Ellsworth American and the Weekly Packet have run the first part of a five-part series written by a staff member of the Maine Public Interest Research Group.

Here are links to all five parts:
1: 500% Rise in Single Parenthood Fueling Family Poverty in Maine
2: One Wrong Guy and an Endless Struggle
3: Chaos in the Classroom
4: The Childless Fathers
5: Removing Obstacles

When I read the first article, it struck me that there were lots of anecdotes and experts quoted about the problem, but essentially no solutions were offered. (There is some discussion of possible policy reactions in Part 5.)

This is a problem with no easy solutions–even “Band Aid” fixes are expensive, contentious and do not address the problem–and its prevention–head on.

I challenge all who participate today to think about what they would propose to address the problems attendant to single parenthood in our state.

This is today’s discussion topic. Here’s a link to a recent article in Foreign Affairs provided by Richard Jacoby:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/2016-10-17/europe-s-ugly-future

You need to register to read the article, but one article per month is free (no subscription cost).

If you prefer, here’s a link to the article in PDF form..