Marriage in the US

[Brainteaserfan]

The percent of unmarried couples in the US has been steadily increasing for years. IMO, this is due to the fact that some newer laws and private funds/organizations have begun to discourage marriage. What I mean by this is that, in my family at least, my dad worked 5 days a week, and my mom 1 day. If they weren't officially married, my dad, (if he had no morals), could have bought a vacation apartment in a different state, live there for a couple weeks each year (with us), and claim residency there. However, he could really live with my mom, who would claim residency in our true state. Then, the money that my mom made, being a small sum, would qualify for many forms of welfare, including food for most of the week (I have seen many people receive this), and probably scholarships/financial assistance for my, my brother's and my sister's college. So, what I'm wondering is whether others in this forum view this as a problem, and if so, why?

[swansont]

The problem with any set of (sufficiently complicated) rules is that someone can exploit them, especially if it's just a matter of wanting to break the rules and not get caught. I don't think marriage rules are special in that regard. However, the laws are based on a social situation far removed from the present-day. e.g. the so-called marriage penalty is there because two people living together and both working full-time jobs was unusual and socially frowned upon decades ago, and the laws reflect that.

[Marat]

The decline of marriage probably has more to do with changes in social mores rather than government welfare laws or tax breaks. People are seldom willing to adjust their civil status purely for financial inducements of the sort that can be gained through the effects of their changed status on government programs, since the money at stake is too small and most people don't run their lives like a corporation, but are instead governed more by emotion. The demographic change in the percentage of married couples is likely just another consequence of the sexual revolution of the 1960s, which encouraged loose partnership formation and dissolution, which is incompatible with marriage.

[Incendia]

I don't view declining marriage as a problem...(useless religious tradition anyway.)

Probably has something to do with the increase of Atheism, and the things mentioned by Marat and Swansont.

Edited July 9, 2011 by Incendia

[bob000555]

I don't view declining marriage as a problem...(useless religious tradition anyway.)

I'm not entirely sure about that. While I think conservatives attempts to legislate morality are usually ridiculous, I find it rather hard to disagree with them when they say that stable families are the best setting for raising children. I tend to think that the government has a legitimate public policy interest in seeing that children are raised in a setting that will help them be productive members of society.

[Incendia]

I'm not entirely sure about that. While I think conservatives attempts to legislate morality are usually ridiculous, I find it rather hard to disagree with them when they say that stable families are the best setting for raising children. I tend to think that the government has a legitimate public policy interest in seeing that children are raised in a setting that will help them be productive members of society.

 

Stable Family argument for marriage is invalid. One may have not married and still have a stable family.

 

 

--An irrelevance follows--

Stable Family requires love right? Marriage is often seen as the ultimate expression of love.

In my opinion, having a child with someone should be the ultimate expression of love. Not a one day religious ceremony which is a great big waste on money.

If having a child with someone became the ultimate expression of love then people might be more careful to avoid impregnating someone/becoming impregnated.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Incendia

[bob000555]

Stable Family argument for marriage is invalid. One may have not married and still have a stable family.

Are you seriously going to accuse others of using "invalid" reasoning when you use logic like that? Of course you can find a stable families outside of marriage. No one is denying that, but it says nothing about the relative probabilities of stable families existing inside and outside of marriage.

[John Cuthber]

"In my opinion, having a child with someone should be the ultimate expression of love."

In a good many cases, it's a mistake due to too much beer.

Do you think you can change that?

[Incendia]

Me? No I can't change that.

 

I can merely talk about it, apply it to myself, and hope that others will do the same.

...but i'm sure more people would be more careful if having a child with someone had the same social significance to it that marriage does.

If it doesn't, well no harm done.

 

Besides...there are people who get married after too much alcohol.

 

If you seek to express love, giving most of your money to clergy is not the way to do it. You can have the fancy party, the speeches, the big fancy cake and presents thing without marriage. At-least without the clergy you don't waste money hiring the clergyman and you don't have to waste your time in a boring ceremony.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Incendia