Families.

I have often heard pro-family wags (e.g. Rick Santorum) spew statistics about how children raised in single-parent households are more likely to live below the poverty line, fail to graduate high school, and use illegal drugs.

You don't often hear statistics about how children raised in large households (where the number of children in the household is three or more) are more likely to live below the poverty line. Or how children raised in young two-parent households (where the parents combined ages is less than 50 years) are less likely to graduate high school than in older two-parent households. Or how children raised in Christian households are more likely to use illegal drugs.

The conclusion we are supposed to take away from the first set of statistics is that the high divorce rate is damaging to children, that deadbeat dads should be vilified, and that it is good that we spend tax dollars trying to promote the "traditional" family. Using the same poor reasoning ability, the conclusion arising out of the second set of statistics is that the high birth rate is damaging to children, that young parents should be vilified, and that it would be good to spend tax dollars trying to prevent Christians from rearing children.

Of course what is really going on is that taken out of context, all of these statistics mean nothing. You'd have to know some technical things--like the sampling methods and standard deviations--to be able to say anything. And you'd have to recognize that correlation is not causation. And you'd have to remember that not all problems are worth solving.

In conclusion: fuck you, Rick Santorum.