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The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

theatlantic.com

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Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#11

Post by jxramos »

telesilla wrote: post #3

It's been explained to me that in the United States you pay less taxes when you are married, thereby resulting in a higher marriage rate than otherwise. I'm surprised this hasn't been contested - doesn't it seem discriminatory to those who don't want to institutionalise their relationship? I don't know any other country that has this tax aspect. edit many seem to presume there are not alternatives to marriage: a de f…

That right, there's three or so tax filing statuses with different rates https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filing_status. Presumably that favoritism in rates assumed an investment by the country in the children that naturally follow the union of a man and woman that are majoritatively fecund by a wide margin populationally speaking. Despite there being marriages that are inherently or voluntarily infertile when does the presumption no longer match reality is an interesting question. Put another way when is the married subpopulation not the primary group to which children are born.

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#12

Post by metalliqaz »

telesilla wrote: post #3

It's been explained to me that in the United States you pay less taxes when you are married, thereby resulting in a higher marriage rate than otherwise. I'm surprised this hasn't been contested - doesn't it seem discriminatory to those who don't want to institutionalise their relationship? I don't know any other country that has this tax aspect. edit many seem to presume there are not alternatives to marriage: a de f…

For a long time, the tax system actually punished couples for getting married. The reason is because it assumed that when married, the wife was a dependent on the husband. It was old fashioned.

When modern couples got married but both continued to work in their careers, the taxes were actually a bit higher on their incomes (mostly on high earners but also on middle class). This is described by my conservative family as "anti-marriage" tax policy.

However it could better be described as "pro-family" because if the couple has a child and the wife stops working to take care of the kid(s), then the tax situation becomes favorable in order to benefit the children.

It's old fashioned, but it made sense. With the changes to the tax code in the Trump era, I don't know if the situation still holds, I haven't looked closely at it.

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#13

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

alfromspace wrote: post #10

The biggest factor in America's high divorce rates is, by far, the advent of no-fault divorce starting in the 70s. I think there's also something to the cultural tropes and propaganda we've seen since then portraying marriage as dull, monotonous, and oppressive while lifting up devoting one's life to an office job, travel, and 'exciting' flings as the path to self-fulfillment. When nothing could really be further fro…

> there's a reason millennials and gen-zers are horribly depressed and dying enough deaths of despair from drugs and suicide to bring down the average lifespan.

Are you saying marriage is happiness? I was cohabitating with my partner for 5 years before we married. There was really no difference in quality of life.

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#14

Post by dr_dshiv »

alfromspace wrote: post #10

The biggest factor in America's high divorce rates is, by far, the advent of no-fault divorce starting in the 70s. I think there's also something to the cultural tropes and propaganda we've seen since then portraying marriage as dull, monotonous, and oppressive while lifting up devoting one's life to an office job, travel, and 'exciting' flings as the path to self-fulfillment. When nothing could really be further fro…

"Marriage is miserable. But not as bad as divorce or never getting married."

Is that the idea?

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#15

Post by alfromspace »

SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #13
alfromspace wrote: post #10

The biggest factor in America's high divorce rates is, by far, the advent of no-fault divorce starting in the 70s. I think there's also something to the cultural tropes and propaganda we've seen since then portraying marriage as dull, monotonous, and oppressive while lifting up devoting one's life to an office job, travel, and 'exciting' flings as the path to self-fulfillment. When nothing could really be further fro…

> there's a reason millennials and gen-zers are horribly depressed and dying enough deaths of despair from drugs and suicide to bring down the average lifespan. Are you saying marriage is happiness? I was cohabitating with my partner for 5 years before we married. There was really no difference in quality of life.

Not necessarily. I'm more criticizing the alternatives I mentioned. And more broadly their lack of stable relationships, either with romantic partners or families.

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#17

Post by yardie »

telesilla wrote: post #3

It's been explained to me that in the United States you pay less taxes when you are married, thereby resulting in a higher marriage rate than otherwise. I'm surprised this hasn't been contested - doesn't it seem discriminatory to those who don't want to institutionalise their relationship? I don't know any other country that has this tax aspect. edit many seem to presume there are not alternatives to marriage: a de f…

This is one of those statements that it's truthfulness is dependent on circumstances. With income taxes you can file separately or jointly. How you want to file is determined by the amount of reductions you can use.

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#18

Post by alfromspace »

dr_dshiv wrote: post #14
alfromspace wrote: post #10

The biggest factor in America's high divorce rates is, by far, the advent of no-fault divorce starting in the 70s. I think there's also something to the cultural tropes and propaganda we've seen since then portraying marriage as dull, monotonous, and oppressive while lifting up devoting one's life to an office job, travel, and 'exciting' flings as the path to self-fulfillment. When nothing could really be further fro…

"Marriage is miserable. But not as bad as divorce or never getting married." Is that the idea?

Why is marriage miserable? Maybe it wouldn't be if people hadn't been conditioned to seek the next dopamine hit instead of trying to make it work.

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#19

Post by rubidium »

jrace wrote: post #16

A question I have is...why marriage at all? Is there a reason I need the government to recognize the union between my and my SO?

Main reason for government recognition is taxes, healthcare situations, common property ownership, and kids. There's laws that take into account if two people are married or now.

Re: The divorce rate has fallen because the demographics of marriage have changed

#20

Post by zdragnar »

telesilla wrote: post #3

It's been explained to me that in the United States you pay less taxes when you are married, thereby resulting in a higher marriage rate than otherwise. I'm surprised this hasn't been contested - doesn't it seem discriminatory to those who don't want to institutionalise their relationship? I don't know any other country that has this tax aspect. edit many seem to presume there are not alternatives to marriage: a de f…

Many countries outside the US do so; the term for it is "income splitting":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_splitting

> doesn't it seem discriminatory to those who don't want to institutionalise their relationship?

That is not a protected class of people anywhere that I am aware of, and there are plenty of justifications for a government only recognizing formalized relationships. If the government were to recognize informal relationships, then fraudulently claiming a deceased person's benefits or inheritance of estate (especially in absence of a will) would be as simple as claiming to have been a secret girl / boyfriend of the deceased.

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