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The right and wrong of the moral and emotional benefits of marriage have been debated, but few have looked at the economics, until now. According to new research Family Research Council, the breakdown of the family is at the core of our economic crises. As America continues to weather a tough economic storm, is would be wise to look at the influence of family structure on economics.

Though it is politically incorrect to expound one form of family structure over another, the census numbers don’t lie. It appears that married families outperform other family structures across basic economic measures such as employment, income, net worth, poverty, receipt of welfare, and child economic will-being. Though the above seems to be an opinion, the census numbers show it the idea the marriage is economically superior as a fact.

Just 5.8 percent of married families were living in poverty in 2009, according to Census data. That’s compared with families with an unmarried female head of household, which face poverty 29.9 percent of the time. When an unmarried man is listed as the head of household, 16.9 percent of the families are in poverty. This difference would be anticipated, however, the degree of difference is startling: 5.8 compared to 29.9 in poverty. America should pay attention.

“For men, being married proves an economic boon,” said Patrick Fagan, director of FRC’s Center for Family and Religion and co-author of the report. “Married men tend to have more stable employment histories and make, on average, almost 30 percent more than their unmarried peers.”

Compared with families that cohabitate, married women and children do much better. It would seem that this would be common sense and not need a study to substantiate. But when it comes to family structure and economy, it seems that the “anything goes” attitude is prominent in the American mindset. The census evidence and the evidence form the F.R.C. clearly show that marriage affects women and children positively. Married women are less likely to be impoverished, and children from married families have stronger economic mobility as adults.

Both the FRC study and the census date show that kids who live in a home that is “shacking up” are more likely to be exposed to instability, complex family relations and poverty. Marriage seems to mean healthier children. Don’t we care about our children. Why isn’t Oprah talking about this?

Now, in a nation that seems more concerned about money than anything else, this next piece of information should be making national news. The FRC study and the census data it originates from show unequivocally that cohabiting families have the lowest net worth growth of all family structures, comparable to that of widows and widowers. Actually all the data on family structure support this finding. The link between shacking up and poverty is well established.

Why isn’t this in the news? Why can’t we have a rational discussion about the breakdown of the American family and the influence of that breakdown on America’s economic well being? This is not a bash on single mothers, this is simply a discussion of the facts. The facts show that children need the stability of living in an emotionally and financially stable household.

Keith Deltano is an dynamic and exciting Christian Speaker that uses interactive comedy to address sexual abstinence, Christian apologetics, the commercialization of Christmas and the US’s conformist culture. He is also a much saught after youth speaker