October 14, 2003
The married minority
Buisness Week has an article describing a growing demographic shift in America: married couples are about to be in the minority. The number of legally single people - divorcees, widow(er)s, gays, and "normal" singles - will soon outstrip the number of traditionally married people, causing a tremendous socio-economic snafu. Benefiting marriage and married life is firmly ingrained in our social, political, legal, and economic system in such a way that single people lose out pretty badly. Yes the "marriage penalty" is a reality, but it's also true that singles can't share or be shared with for health insurance, pension plans, capital gains taxes, etc. Related stats can be found here and here.
Frankly, I'm glad it's this way and hope it stays that way. I've consistently argued that marriage is the glue of society, and hate to see it deemphasized. It's getting harder and harder to get and stay married, even as our culture's obsession with the institution reaches an all-time high. It's hard to say that the two things aren't related somehow (especially up here at Covenant).
Combining the above article with this one is left as an exercise for the reader.
