Oh "Boy," Have We Got a "Man'-Sized Problem.

AuthorBresler, Robert J.
PositionAmerican Thought - Unemployment and the education lag of boys against girls - Report

"Men and boys for centuries have found purpose in work and in being providers. Expanding welfare or guaranteeing some income [as promised by the Left's Democratic presidential candidates] regardless of work only will contribute to dependency and waywardness."

BY MEASUREMENTS familiar to the public--unemployment rate, wage growth, and stock market prices--the U.S. economy is doing well. For African-Americans and Hispanics, job opportunities have improved and unemployment levels declined. However, there is a group, hidden in many of these statistics, that appears to be falling behind--young men and boys. Some years ago, I attended several college commencements. In all of them, the number of women receiving honors outnumbered the men by at least two to one. This was consistent with what I was then seeing in the classroom--and by all accounts, that gap has widened. This is not simply to be mourned; women have more choices and opportunities.

Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute has been monitoring this issue for some time. What he has found is daunting. In important measures of achievement, boys are lagging behind girls. More than twice as many girls as boys take Advanced Placement Honors courses in high school or earn associate degrees. Compared to females, less than 80% of males earn bachelor's and master's degrees, or even enroll in graduate school. They also lag behind in taking the SAT and earning doctoral degrees.

In Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, Matthew Kimmel relates a pattern among young men. Many are drifting through their college years and beyond, wasting time hanging out, partying, playing video games, and watching sports--delaying adulthood, marriage, family, and a career.

What Perry has found on the dark side is alarming. A far greater percentage of young men than young women are likely to be homeless, abuse illicit drugs and alcohol, die of an opioid overdose, be expelled from school, commit suicide, and be in a Federal prison. This means fewer adult males who may be reliable fathers for young boys.

As a consequence, with more males afflicted with drugs and alcohol or in prison, we have a lower birth and marriage rate and more out-of-wedlock children. Thus, the crisis affects young women as well. The declining pool of eligible men in the workforce means the postponement of marriage and children. For both men and women, it translates to more years on their own or perhaps under their parents' roof...

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