Fatherless: A Novel by James Dobson, Kurt Bruner Page A

history,” Kevin replied. “Which is exactly why
     we face a declining tax base amid skyrocketing elder-care expenses. Our incentives have pushed both of those trend lines in
     the wrong direction.”
    “Our charter is to close the deficit gap,” Anderson interrupted. “Cutting sources of tax revenue will make that much more
     difficult.”
    “Not cutting. Reinvesting,” Kevin corrected again. “If we shift the incentives in the right direction we encourage more bright
     spot behaviors, which will actually increase revenue.”
    “That might help us over the long haul. But what will it do to our short-term projections?” Anderson appeared highly skeptical.
    “I won’t kid you. They will look worse at first,” Kevin confessed. “But after a few years they will improve sharply. Do you
     remember the bright spot regions? The average household generates significantly higher GDP and spends far less on elder care.”
    “How can parents generate more wealth when they spend so much to raise kids?” Anderson probed. “And how can communities with
     fewer transitions spend less on the elderly?”
    “Remember, necessity is the mother of invention,” Kevin continued with a wink. “Kids motivate everyone in the family to make
     different choices than they would otherwise have made. Dads take extra shifts and second jobs. Moms scan coupons and launch
     home-based businesses. Grandparents buy birthday presents and watch grandkids, providing cheaper and better child care while
     giving them something better to do than rot away in retirement villages. The average married father, for example, earns seventy
     percent more lifetime income than the average single man.”
    “That can’t be right,” Trisha objected.
    “It is right. For a thousand reasons, children give young adults incentive to work, save, and invest. They also give older
     adults positive purpose. The numbers don’t lie. Our brightest economic regions have more kids and fewer transitions.”
    “Have you run the projections on these proposals?” an Undecided asked, eagerly flipping through the supporting document.
    “We have,” Kevin answered. “You’ll find them on page seven. A net gain after ten years. If we could affect a ten percent shift
     over two decades we would generate six trillion dollars in additional GDP while reducing end-of-life expenses by two trillion
     more.”
    Troy noticed a slight rise in one of Anderson’s eyebrows. A budding For?
    “And all on the backs of women!” Trisha erupted.
    “Excuse me?” Kevin replied.
    “The regions you call bright spots, Mr. Tolbert, look more like a retreat to the Dark Ages.” She glanced down briefly to confirm
     her hunch. “I’m looking at a map of store placement for my company. It’s interesting how few of our outlets show up in the
     areas you’ve highlighted.”
    She stopped, assuming her point self-evident. The blank stares around the room prompted a reluctant explanation of the obvious.
     “Our stores serve professional women. We have lots of outlets in Mr. Tolbert’s dark red regions. Almost none in his so-called
     bright spots.”
    Troy quickly connected the dots. Trisha’s fashions accentuated ladder-climbing gals, not diaper-changing moms. Women purchased
     her clothes to make presentations, not to burp babies.
    “Who do you think wipes the noses of all of those future taxpayers, Mr. Tolbert? Certainly not the fathers.”
    Troy sensed trouble. He had seen the strongest, most decisive men shrink in the face of an offended female, especially one
     as attractive and articulate as Trisha Sayers.
    “Raising children requires enormous sacrifice from both parents,” Kevin countered.
    “Am I correct to assume you have children, Mr. Tolbert?” Trisha asked.
    “Three,” he replied. “Would you like to see pictures?” The comment prompted the intended laughter, shifting momentum back
     in Kevin’s direction.
    “Where are they now?”
    “With my wife Angie.”
    “What about