This week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., showcased a report “on the problems working-age American men face in fulfilling their vital role as providers.”
Rubio’s office released “The State of the Working (And Non-Working) Man,” a report which “chronicles the disappearance of jobs paying a family wage, the explosion in the cost of middle-class goods, and the mass exit of men from the labor force over more than half a century”and “links these trends to shifts in the American economy and culture and proposes policies to bring back well-paying jobs for men, reconnect idle men to the labor force, and prepare a new generation of young men to be providers and leaders.”
The senator weighed in on the report this week.
“I know from personal experience how important it is for boys to have good men as role models. Unfortunately, fewer boys have fathers today or positive male role models of any kind. This report sheds light on the problems men face as workers and offers policymakers solutions that will build up men to be better providers, husbands, fathers, and community leaders. I am committed to working on these issues because I believe that we can build a better future for our boys and men, and for our country as a whole,” said Rubio.
Rubio also wrote about his findings in a piece that ran at Fox News on Labor Day.
“The evidence is clear that working-age men are not doing well at all,” Rubio wrote. “Some might wonder how this could be, since national unemployment is near a record low. The problem is hidden out of sight, driven by a slow erosion of workers’ earning power…. [M]illions of men—predominantly blue-collar and less educated men—can no longer provide a middle-class life for their families.
“As big a problem are the millions of men who have defected from the labor force entirely and spend their days in idleness—or worse. Last year, there were seven million men missing from the labor force and 10 million total without work” Rubio continued. “[F]ewer boys have involved fathers today. Many have no positive male role models of any kind. The headlines are full of the tragic consequences. Men and boys are depressed, lonely, angry, and even violent—toward themselves and others….
“What is the root cause of men’s present woes? There is no single culprit behind the carnage, but our report identifies five factors that are particularly worthy of attention: deindustrialization, open borders, corrosive welfare programs, changes in education, and recent revolutions in American culture and technology. We must respond to these factors head-on,” Rubio added. “If this sounds like an ambitious task, that is because it is. But it is also the only way for our nation to escape decline…. We will need good men with dignified work, stable families, and strong communities to meet the tremendous challenges ahead….”
The report is part of Rubio’s Project for Strong Labor Markets and National Development, “which develops policies promoting dignified work, strong families, thriving communities, and a unified nation.”
