I’m really going to get flamed for this post, but please keep in mind I will be speaking in generalities that I would not suggest apply to everyone:
The first thing that you have to understand about unmarried (or divorced) women is that, along with everyone else, there are generally two distinct types of these women.
The first ype of woman who is generally going to be unmarried is a successful career woman who often will view the Democratic Party as the Women’s Liberation Party, and rightfully so, from a standpoint of aiding women in breaking through glass ceilings and giving them more equal opportunity in the workplace with respect to occupational choices, wage equality, and opportunity for advancement. The majority of women that paid attention in High School History class will know that Democrats are the ones to first seriously lobby for these changes, and that the majority of Women’s Rights advocates, at such times, were Democratic.
The second type of woman you will find is one who is not financially well off, and will generally either have children out of wedlock, or be divorced with children. The Democratic Party is, as we all know, more Liberal with Social Fiscal policies, and any woman in this position who is not an idiot will realize that Liberals, in general, have worked and are continuing to work to advance their cause in the following areas:
1.) Higher Income Limits/Amounts for Food Stamps.
2.) Higher Income Limits/Amounts for Welfare.
3.) Higher Income Limits for Social Medical Services.
4.) College Grant Programs and Continuing Education Grant Programs.
5.) Money Allocations for Job Placement.
6.) Access to Free, or Greatly Reduced, Childcare for those who do work and/or attend College.
For example, we’re going to use someone I know (who shall remain unnamed and unidentified as an example):
The individual in question is able to take advantage of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6…and may eventually take advantage of Number 5.
The individual in question is a never-married Mother of two whose, “Baby-Daddy,” has any number of other kids to such an extent that the child support is spread so thin that she gets almost nothing from him. Furthermore, he is not always employed to begin with. The individual in question has two kids who were born premature, had health problems, no longer have significant health problems (though have lingering effects) and are still collecting SSI. In addition to these collections, the individual in question is also a foodstamp/welfare recipient who receives all medical care (for herself and the kids) free of charge. Furthermore, the individual in question recently started attending college almost exclusively on grant money that may or may not need to be repaid (Graduation-Dependent) and these grants also give the individual in question over $10,000/year in straight cash which is awarded, in part, at the end of each academic period. Finally, childcare is provided by said Institution of Academia at no charge whatsoever.
In total, excluding the free childcare and healthcare, the individual in question (from all sources, including food stamps) clears 30K/year and also lives in an income-based housing unit. The total taxes paid from this money are $0.00.
In essence, the Social Services/Monies provided to this person are such that she is better off not to have married the Father of her children, (were he not already married, which he is) as his income would then offset the monies provided by the Government and College Grants etc.
How could such an individual not vote Democratic?
FAMILY:
The problem with the entitlement society is that it becomes such that women have very little financial incentive to stay with their husbands (who, in many cases, are not neglectful or otherwise abusive) and often find that they will have more financial opportunity by striking it off by themselves and will continue to live lucratively decent lives. These individuals will be able to attempt to pursue a career, and are better off doing so AFTER having kids, because if they were to do so prior to having kids, there may be some kind of financial struggle or discomfort of lifestyle (ex. living in a dormroom) involved. In many cases, these college grants are simply an opportunity to get some extra money and will very often result in, “Career students,” who will be in good financial shape until all of the kids have reached the age of eighteen. At that point, the individual may then seek out some kind of career, or may seek out some kind of a partner.
The family problem is that, were it not for these social programs, it is self-apparent that all couples would be better off to remain married. The primary expenses one faces are generally mortage/rent, utilities and food, so it is obvious that (lacking Social Services of any kind) a married couple is going to be stronger than two single individuals regardless of whether or not both of them work or only one of them works. It is unfortunate, however, that such a system lacking in any, “Safety nets,” can often facilitate abuse of the wife or children within the household, because, where the Hell else are they going to go? It is in scenarios such as these that women, in my estimation, would be more likely to get stuck with an abusive partner due to inability to do anything else. That is truly unfortunate, and I also think that any individual convicted of three or more counts of spousal abuse should get the death penalty, but that’s a different topic for a different day.
Essentially, you are faced with a problem that a divorced couple, with kids, serves to often financially harm the male as he must pay child support (part of his income) while being put in the position of still needing to provide a suitable residence for himself that must also be able to comfortably accomodate the kids should he desire any type of lengthly visitation with them. In many of these cases, the female often ends up better off, or believes that she is in a position where she can ultimately end up better off.
I’ve already stated that the situation with no Social Services can facilitate and abusive household, but the problem lies in finding the right balance of a, “Safety Net,” while still making it patently disadvantageous for either the male or female to extract themselves from a marriage, because certainly (given that the divorce rate is so much higher than it was just twenty years ago, as well as the rate of unmarried mothers) many of these relationships could probably be saved.
Unfortunately, it would also seem that access to these Social Services minimize the effects of making stupid decisions such as being an unmarried individual who engages in unprotected sex, because, the worst case scenario is one in which the State ends up taking care of you anyhow.
ULTIMATELY:
Ultimately, both of these generalized types of women have excellent reasons for throwing their support to the Democratic Party, as it is such party that acts in furtherance of their interests, anyway. Another example that we can look at is that the Democratic Party Candidates are far more likely to be Pro-Choice than Republican Candidates, which further, “Empowers,” women…to not have to take responsibility for their decisions.
I lean Pro-Choice, by the way, but let’s face it, that’s the fucking reason why. Men will often encourage an abortion from a partner they have impregnated, so they’re not innocent of shirking responsibility, either.
I’m a much different kind of Socialist than people are used to, I can get into that more, if need be, but I often accuse the Democratic Party of being the, “Take no fucking personal responsibility for your actions,” Party. Both parties make me sick, just in different ways.
Anyway, both types of women support the Democratic Party for different reasons. The first type of woman does not want to have to rely on anyone except for herself for her survival, and rightfully believes she should not HAVE to rely on a man, or a marriage. The second type of woman is simply changing the entity she relies on for her personal survival (and that of the children) from a man to the Government. The Government can occasionally do a better job, lucratively speaking, anyway, and this is especially the case for a man who is imprisoned for whatever reason.
I have a lot more to say about this subject, but in the interest of facilitating an actual discussion, I would say that this post is long enough and is enough with which to jumpstart this thread, so let’s see where it goes.