July 22, 2010 Volume 6, Number 29
In This
Issue
.
PNC Ribbon
Cutting
.
Marriage
Matters
.
A Little Bit of
Humor
E-Mail
cynthia.davis@house.mo.gov
Find me
on
Committees
Special
Committee on Children and Families
Chair
Official Homepage for
Official Government Homepage for your
Look up
Look up
Consumer Complaints & Fraudulent
Activity, No-Call List
Federal
Links
Congressman Blaine
Luetkemeyer
PNC Ribbon
Cutting
Representative
Davis cuts the ribbon to honor the merger of National City Bank with PNC
Bank.
Representative
Cynthia Davis presents a proclamation to the branch manager, Adam
Hopper. PNC Bank is a very large bank with a small town
feel.
Marriage Matters
By State
Representative
One of
my divorced friends told me her wedding day was the happiest day of her
life. Many people feel the same way. I have found that most
women desire to have a strong gentleman in their lives to love them,
support them, and to respect them as the mother of their children.
Most men desire a virtuous lady to be a helpmate, soul mate and
lifetime lover.
How do
we go from being so happy to have found that special person to the utter
devastation of over half the marriages ending in divorce?
Divorce Rate : Divorce Rate In
America
Mike
McManus, who along with his wife Harriet co-founder Marriage Savers, is
author of the book How To Cut
America's Divorce Rate in Half. He says on page93, that "Most
states have one divorce for every two marriages . . . This pattern which
has existed since 1970 is the basis for saying that
Until
forty-five years ago, marriage was the norm. Millions of children
benefited from being raised in a two-parent household. Married
couples built wealth more easily and millions of adults were able to
retire comfortably on more than just their Social Security check.
How did
our country end up with the highest
divorce rate in the world in a little over a
How did
we end up with so many impoverished single mothers, troubled children, and
crushing deficits from the resulting social program costs?
In large
part I blame careless politicians who allowed passage of laws undermining
marriage and removing consequences for irresponsibility.
Before
the 1960s there was no such thing as "no-fault divorce". Back then
the laws required a reason for breaking one's commitment to a spouse,
inducing pain on innocent children, and causing social and economic
problems for states. To streamline and shorten court proceedings,
No-fault
divorce has proven to be a disaster for everyone.
Perhaps you can make an
exception for the lawyers who now can have more cases. Socializing
the costs of divorce does not work, just as it does not work for car
insurance. Being divorced or an unwed mother is a common indicator
of financial hardship for women and children.
It can contribute to
child abuse and neglect, a smorgasbord of irreversible problems for
children, lack of private health insurance, suicide, substance abuse,
criminal behavior, underemployment in adulthood, and higher
taxes.
For
every divorce that pushes a man or woman below the poverty line, it costs
the state of
There
are major problems for middle-class victims of divorce as
well.
A non-contested divorce,
where children are involved, can cost around $10,000 in legal fees and
court costs.
Hardly any divorced
person you speak with was happy with the outcome from custody and
visitation issues, not to mention the loss of property value from forced
real-estate sales.
This is all before
factoring in the emotional costs.
Unlike
many debates in politics, the adverse impact of divorce on children is an
accepted fact on all sides of the political spectrum.
So what is the single
most important legislation we can pass that will help men, women and
children get what they really want and need out of life? How do we
begin to make marriage the foundation stone of our society again, helping
couples to build wealth, raise their children together and be healthier
and happier?
The
answer is that we must revise and strengthen our marriage
laws.
Scientific
studies report that married individuals are the happiest and feel "in
control" of their lives, while divorced individuals have the lowest
happiness levels and feel their lives are "out of control".
Missourians deserve the happiness, security, and natural rights that
will occur under better laws than what we have today.
In the
eight years I have been in the
Surprisingly,
many legislators are afraid to tackle marriage
problems.
Some are concerned the
su
My
husband and I participate in a marriage facilitation
program.
Many of those who are
happily married want do more to help strengthen marriages for other
couples.
Having been married for
nearly 30 years, we have something to offer that is beyond what you can
get from some therapists.
Proven "Community
Marriage Programs", such as the one we facilitate, will create a climate
where marriage-mentoring is available for couples in troubled marriages
from long-term married couples who volunteer to pass on the perspective
that comes from time and experience.
Additionally,
strong shared-parenting laws would remove the conflict related to child
support issues---a problem that costs our taxpayers over $59 million
non-recompensed dollars each year as well as a good portion of the $183
million per year on childcare. Most parents would rather
care for their own children than to be required by the courts to pay
others to do it.
My
priority for my next term
Stronger
marriages make stronger families, churches, naturally-sustainable
communities, and will ultimately make a stronger country. Join us
in this effort. We must end the harm inflicted on thousands,
especially all the innocent children, giving everyone hope for justice,
fairness and happiness.
The
marriage revolution is beginning right here in
Link to
Gallop Poll results article: Cultural Tolerance for
Divorce
Your
thoughts are important to me, so please let me know what you think about
no-fault divorce laws. You can send me your opinion by clicking
here: Cynthia Davis
A Little
Bit of Humor . . .
Finally! The Guys'
Side of the Story
We
always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from
the male side. These are our rules!
1.
Sunday = sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let
it be.
2. "Yes"
and "No" are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
3.
4. A
headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.
5.
Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all
comments become null and void after 7 days.
6. If
you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.
7.
Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
8. If it
itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
9. When
we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really.
10.
Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss
such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.
11. I
am in shape. Round is a
shape.
12.
Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch
tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that, it's like
camping!
This
Capitol Report is a weekly column by Representative Cynthia
Davis, from the
19th District, covering events in the Missouri Legislature and
district-wide issues.
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