An interesting article in the New York Times on the effects of job loss on family life seems to confirm the tradition of Catholic social thought about the importance of work—a living wage—to family life.Also interesting is the apparent thesis that a mother’s job loss isn’t as devastating as a father’s loss of a job of comparable income. It seems to be based on two things: 1) mothers spend more time with their kids —and they’re less harried; and 2) a father’s self-identity is more connected with being a provider.