Since the Great Depression the Republican Party has perceived by the American public as the party that's weaker on economics but stronger on defense. With 2012 coming closer, Republican candidates hoping to earn a four-year trip to the Oval Office understand they need to be strong on economic policy. How, exactly, can this be accomplished? Even though the latest Gallup poll among likely Republican voters shows economic matters are the top priority--and social issues are third--Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee has offered a glimpse of the Republican Party's impending platform: show America that moral issues are economic issues.
Huckabee debuted the new Republican strategy last month in a CBS interview by stating a stable family is a stable economy, and he backed up his claim by arguing that there's a $300 billion "Dad deficit" due to too many American fathers not looking after their children. He continued his number-crunching to CBS with the addition that two-thirds of American children in poverty wouldn't be if their parents would simply enter the bonds of matrimony. With these figures in mind, Huckabee then proceeded to blast President Obama for opposing the Defense of Marriage Act, citing opposition to the act as the destroyer of American family values.
It's safe to say nearly everyone would agree that a child belonging to a stable home is a positive thing not only for the child and family but also for the country. One such stable solution is the adoption of children by gay and lesbian couples. According to a March 2007 study by the Urban Institute, same-sex couples adopting children are "older, more educated, and have more economic resources than other adoptive parents. " A ban on same-sex couples adopting children could cost from "$87 to $130 million" and could cost states themselves anywhere from "$100,000 to $27 million."
Here begins the ultimate conundrum. Huckabee believes gay marriage would destroy family values, yet he also argues that the simple act of marriage would save the United States money. Congratulations, Fox News television personality who wants to be president. You just paved the logical and fiscal way to improve the family unit: allow same-sex adoption and gay marriage.
Not to be outdone by his Republican colleague and competition, former Pennsylvania Republican Senator Rick Santorum threw his hat into the social issues/economy game by recently telling a radio show in New Hampshire that Social Security is failing, among other things, because there aren't enough workers and that abortion is ultimately to blame. This argument, its inherent lunacy aside, has three major, fundamental flaws.
The United States has been in a deep economic recession, a recession that currently has the unemployment rate at 8.9%. To actually make the argument that there aren't enough workers given the number of people who can't find work displays a complete ineptitude in understanding the economic situation the U.S. currently faces. It doesn't take John Maynard Keynes to understand that more workers when unemployment is high is a bad thing.
The second major issue with Santorum's comment, and a reason for alarm, is it shows how deeply out of touch Republican front-runners for 2012 are with economic policy. A common criticism of the Republican Party by Democratic supporters is their coldness toward the working individual, and this does nothing but highlight that stereotype. Rick Santorum's comment showed the Republican Party is more concerned with the plight of individuals who aren't here rather than those who are here and are struggling to make a living.
The final flaw with Santroum's claim is that it's not even an accurate statement. A 2002 study entitled "Patterns in the Socioeconomic Characteristics of Women Obtaining Abortions in 2000-2001" offered detailed demographics as to who, exactly, is receiving abortions in the United States. The study reports that "women who are aged 18-29, unmarried, black or Hispanic, or economically disadvantaged--including those on Medicaid--have higher abortion rates." In addition, "abortion rates for women with incomes below 200% of poverty and for women with Medicaid coverage increased between 1994 and 2000."
The results from this study make it quite clear: those receiving abortions are individuals from lower economic and educational brackets. Statistically speaking, children from such families are more likely to receive a poor education, engage in criminal activities and, you guessed it, draw from social programs like Medicaid. The children Santorum referenced would be more likely to take money from social programs than add to programs like Social Security.
As the months fly by and 2012 approaches, the game begins anew. More Republican faces enter the fold preaching the same old strategy with a different twist: pander to the religious, advocate economic policy that lacks the backing of academic testing and pass off rampant inaccuracies as facts. The only true question remaining is which Republican candidate will be George W. Bush version 2.0 in 2012.
Scott Janssen is a recent graduate of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a Master's degree in Political Science. Though still looking for a job, he prefers to be called a "professional occupational seeker" rather than "unemployed" for self-confidence reasons. He can be reached at dnaprovesnothing@gmail.com.