Although frustrating and imperfect, government regulation often leads to better lives. We notice, for example, that seat belt use in 2016 reached a record high with 90.1 percent of motorists buckled up, compared with 58 percent in 1994, although the number dropped slightly in 2017 to 89.7 percent. We know that smoking bans have directly and quickly led to reductions in heart attacks and other ailments. Given these successes and many others, do we need more aggressive government intervention in America’s endangered family life? At first glance, most Americans would probably say “no,” but a 2012 University of Virginia (UVA) study argued that government intervention is needed to restore the institution of marriage among the 60 percent of our population that does not have a college education. In the 1980s, about 13 percent of American children were born outside of marriage; now, that number is about 44 percent. The UVA study estimates the cost to taxpayers at over $100 billion annually when stable families do not develop. The study suggests, among other things, various tax and welfare policy changes to encourage marriage. Is marriage a private and personal affair that should be left free of further government intervention? Explain. [For more information, see http://stateofourunions.org].