{"id":2398117,"date":"2025-02-03T07:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T12:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oklahoma-bill-would-give-state-tax-credits-to-married-parents\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T07:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T12:42:10","slug":"oklahoma-bill-would-give-state-tax-credits-to-married-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oklahoma-bill-would-give-state-tax-credits-to-married-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Bill Would Give State Tax Credits To Married Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Foklahoma-bill-would-give-state-tax-credits-to-married-parents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2398117&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u200c article discusses the high \u2063rate of children raised \u2063in single-parent homes in the United States, highlighting that it has the highest\u2063 proportion globally. It emphasizes the various benefits associated \u200bwith children being raised by married parents,\u2064 such as better academic performance, financial stability, and improved social outcomes. The author points out a trend among younger\u2062 generations, specifically Millennials and Generation Z, which sees falling marriage rates and an \u200bincrease in children born to unmarried parents.<\/p>\n<p>In response to this growing concern, Oklahoma\u200c state Senator Dusty Deevers proposed the \u2063Promote Child Thriving\u2063 Act, aimed at incentivizing stable two-parent households\u2064 through tax credits. The \u200dbill offers a\u200c $500 credit for each child raised by married parents,\u200b which increases to $1,000 if\u200d the parents marry before the child\u2019s birth. This initiative \u200dseeks to safeguard\u2063 children&#8217;s well-being \u200band promote the &#8220;success sequence&#8221;\u2014a pathway that includes completing high school, obtaining a full-time job, and marrying before having children\u2014as\u2064 a means to avoid poverty.<\/p>\n<p>the\u2062 article argues that children have a right to both\u2064 thier mother and father, framing \u200dthis as a fundamental, natural right. It highlights \u2064the state&#8217;s\u200d interest\u2064 in fostering\u200b family structures that\u200c can lead to better outcomes for children, as opposed to merely addressing the fallout of family\u2062 breakdowns.The author asserts that\u2064 marriage plays a critical \u2064role\u2063 in protecting children\u2019s\u200b connections to both parents, suggesting that\u2062 policies need to encourage marital stability to improve societal outcomes. <\/p>\n<p>the piece advocates for marriage as \u200ba societal \u200bgoal, suggesting\u200d that incentivizing marriage\u200d through targeted policies can lead to healthier families and more stable lives for children.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The United States has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2019\/12\/12\/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">world&rsquo;s highest rate<\/a> of kids being raised in single-parent homes. This is alarming, considering the benefits children gain when being raised by their married parents, including greater&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/blog\/what-unites-most-graduates-of-selective-colleges-an-intact-family\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">academic success<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Two-Parent-Privilege-Americans-Stopped-Getting\/dp\/0226817784\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2RJQQZSAPWWPY&amp;keywords=two-parent+privilege&amp;qid=1695732640&amp;sprefix=two-parent+privilege%2Caps%2C67&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">financial stability<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC3091824\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">improved social outcomes<\/a>. Married parents are key to children&rsquo;s well-being and future. Yet, as a nation, we are denying the next generation the environment that is most likely to set them up for stability and success.<\/p>\n<p>Generation Z is following the example of Millennials and concluding that marriage is uncool. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgsu.edu\/ncfmr\/resources\/data\/family-profiles\/loo-marriage-rate-US-geographic-variation-2022-fp-23-23.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">marriage rates have fallen<\/a>, the percentage of children born to unmarried parents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.childtrends.org\/publications\/dramatic-increase-in-percentage-of-births-outside-marriage-among-whites-hispanics-and-women-with-higher-education-levels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has generally trended upward<\/a>. Nearly 40 percent of babies in the United States are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/276025\/us-percentage-of-births-to-unmarried-women\/#:~:text=In%201980%2C%20some%2018%20percent,States%20from%201980%20to%202022.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">born to unmarried parents<\/a>. It&rsquo;s time for states to think seriously about how they can incentivize family structures that help children thrive.<\/p>\n<p>In Oklahoma, state Sen. Dusty Deevers has proposed<a href=\"http:\/\/webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us\/cf_pdf\/2025-26%2520INT\/SB\/SB328%2520INT.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> a bill<\/a> that would help more children in his state grow up in the environment where they are most likely to thrive, with their married mom and dad. The Promote Child Thriving Act incentivizes stable, two-parent households by extending a $500 tax credit for every child under 18 who is being raised by his married biological parents. For every child whose parents marry before he is born, the amount is raised to $1,000. This prioritizes the well-being of children, encourages choices that reduce poverty, and rewards choices that put children first.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Children Have a Right to Their Mother and Father<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Throughout history, marriage has played a vital role as the institution that protects a child&rsquo;s relationship with the two adults from whom he came. This connection is not simply good for children, it is their <em>right. <\/em>When considering what makes something a right as opposed to simply a desire, there are three criteria to keep in mind: A natural right exists pre-government, no one has to provide you with that right, and a natural right is distributed equally &mdash; no one is born with greater or lesser potential to exercise those rights. <\/p>\n<p>Just like children&rsquo;s right to life meets these criteria, so does children&rsquo;s right to their mom and dad &mdash; the parent-child relationship is as pre-government as it gets. No one has to provide you with a mother and father; by virtue of your existence, you have them. And everyone naturally has exactly one natural mother and father.<\/p>\n<p>The state has a clear, compelling interest in protecting the vulnerable. From an economic standpoint, the state also has a strong interest in encouraging choices that are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nolongerfatherless.org\/statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">least likely<\/a> to land a child in foster care, on the streets, or in jail &mdash; all of which take a heavy toll on state budgets and resources &mdash; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ES_20220228_Rebalancing_Children_First.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more likely<\/a> to put them on a track toward financial and academic success. States need to recognize that encouraging marriage is an important part of protecting children and reducing the economic strain created by fatherlessness and family breakdown.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Incentivizing the Success Sequence<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Additionally, this bill incentivizes something known as the &ldquo;success sequence&rdquo;: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/l-a-mayor-says-new-program-giving-50-savings-accounts-to-first-graders-is-about-racial-justice\/\" title=\"L.A. Mayor Says New Program Giving  Savings Accounts To First-Graders \u2018Is About Racial Justice\u2019\">graduate high school<\/a>, get a full-time job, and get married before having children. A decade ago, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/an-agenda-for-reducing-poverty-and-improving-opportunity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brookings Institute<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Sawhill_FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that young adults who follow all three steps in this sequence have only a 2.4 percent chance of living in poverty. <\/p>\n<p>More recent research continues to reinforce this pathway to thriving. The success sequence holds true <a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/ifs-admin\/resources\/reports\/successsequencedisadvantagedya-final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">across demographics<\/a>. According to a 2022 report, 96 percent of black and 97 percent of Hispanic Millennials who followed the success sequence were not poor in their mid-30s. This sequence not only improves people&rsquo;s financial outcomes &mdash; it is also associated with<a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/ifs-admin\/resources\/reports\/successsequencementalhealth-final-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> better mental health<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/sutherlandinstitute.org\/does-the-success-sequence-impact-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> each step in the sequence<\/a> has been shown to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">positively affect physical health<\/a>. As Brad Wilcox has pointed out in <em>Get Married<\/em>, no group of men and women is as happy as married dads and moms.<\/p>\n<p>Incentivizing the choices that lead to greater prosperity, well-being, and improved outcomes for adults and children alike funnels state resources toward supporting families and protecting the interests of children.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Answering Objections<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This bill recognizes something important: Good family policy starts with safeguarding the best interests of children. By focusing on the child involved, the bill shifts the attention away from adult relationships and toward the best interests of the next generation. While some may argue the bill discriminates against some adults, it&rsquo;s important to recognize that the bill is not about the adults involved. It is about the children. Regardless of sexual orientation or lifestyle, the only adults who qualify are those who are committed to preserving their children&rsquo;s daily relationship with both parents through marriage.<\/p>\n<p>While this bill is not focused on fertility rates, those who are concerned with the inefficacy of tax credits to incentivize birth rates may be inclined to question this bill for the same reason. However, the fact that child tax credits have not necessarily changed fertility rates does not mean tax credits do not affect the choices of those who benefit from them. <\/p>\n<p>For instance, <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11150-016-9348-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">research demonstrates<\/a> that women who stand to lose the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazon-wants-15-federal-minimum-wage-reports-small-businesses-would-be-hardest-hit\/\" title=\"Amazon Wants ...5 Federal Minimum Wage; Reports: Small Businesses Would Be Hardest Hit\">earned income tax credit<\/a> if they get married are more likely not to wed. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgsu.edu\/ncfmr\/resources\/data\/family-profiles\/wu-trends-births-single-cohabiting-mothers-fp-17-04.html#:~:text=The%20share%20of%20births%20to%20cohabiting%20mothers,mothers%20were%20born%20into%20a%20cohabiting%20union.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Most<\/a> unmarried mothers are instead <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bgsu.edu\/ncfmr\/resources\/data\/family-profiles\/lamidi-nonmarital-births-fp-16-03.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cohabiting<\/a> when their children are born. However, cohabiting couples have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/social-trends\/2018\/04\/25\/the-changing-profile-of-unmarried-parents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">50 percent<\/a> chance of breaking up by the time their child turns 9 &mdash; over twice that of married relationships. While divorce is far less common among younger generations, the rise in cohabitation means many children face the same upheaval as their parents&rsquo; cohabiting relationships break up. If losing a tax credit is reason enough not to marry, it is time to reverse that incentive, encouraging adults in serious relationships to get married for the sake of their children &mdash; a move that may also <a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/blog\/new-report-for-fertility-marriage-still-matters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">improve fertility rates<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There are safety nets in place for fragile families. <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/life\/financial-assistance.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">State<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acf.hhs.gov\/ofa\/programs\/temporary-assistance-needy-families-tanf\">federal<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fns.usda.gov\/wic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">  resources<\/a> exist to help struggling single parents and their children. But if our policy solutions always focus on the downstream effects of family breakdown, rather than going to the source and incentivizing strong marriages and healthy families, we will have an ever-growing government attempting to address a rapidly increasing litany of social ills. No matter how much government grows, it neither can nor should replace parents.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is, no other institution protects children the way marriage does. If states want to address poverty, improve outcomes for children, and do more than simply react to higher rates of criminal behavior in communities with broken homes, they need to encourage raising children within marriage to the child&rsquo;s other parent. Sen. Deevers&rsquo; bill is an excellent example of what that looks like.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Patience Sunne is the engagement director at Them Before Us, a nonprofit dedicated to defending children&rsquo;s rights.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. has the highest rate of single-parent homes, which is concerning given the advantages of married parenting for children&#8217;s success and stability<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3655,"featured_media":2398118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Woman-Playing-with-Dog.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[49697,12474,40824],"class_list":["post-2398117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-married-parents","tag-oklahoma","tag-tax-credits"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Woman-Playing-with-Dog.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2398117"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2398121,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398117\/revisions\/2398121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2398118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2398117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2398117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2398117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}