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A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

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Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#51

The chart is just another "wtf happened in 1971" moment. https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/ What happened in 1971? The Nixon Shock, which is when the dollar stopped being convertible to gold after it became evident that the US did not have the gold it claimed to have.

Whoa, you mean if only we were still on the gold standard, then I'd be worthy of love? #Im14&AustrianEconomicsIsDeep

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#52
post #5

I've never met a person of the gender I'm attracted to that would reciprocate the selflessness and empathy that I joyously offer potential partners. I would rather keep my self-respect than settle for someone who won't meet me on my level.

Hey bud. Just an observation. You come off as a lot less joyful and selfless than you think you are.

[deleted]

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#53

The chart is just another "wtf happened in 1971" moment. https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/ What happened in 1971? The Nixon Shock, which is when the dollar stopped being convertible to gold after it became evident that the US did not have the gold it claimed to have.

Turns put he is a crook

He is, but he is also a convenient scapegoat here.

The US was running up debts with post-WWII behavior for quite a while, especially with wars in Korea and Vietnam. This is what Charles de Gaulle was talking about when he referred to the US' "exorbitant privilege" in 1965 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exorbitant_privilege) before repatriating France's gold. Multiple presidents preceeded Nixon and continued promoting expansionist policy and meddling in foreign countries with war (that the US could not afford if not for our exorbitant privilege), mostly to compete with or try asserting dominance over USSR.

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#55
post #4

> While many unmarried 40-year-olds are living with a romantic partner, most are not. In 2022, 22% of never-married adults ages 40 to 44 were cohabiting. It seems that the institution of marriage is the issue and not human relationship?

> In 2022, 22% of never-married adults ages 40 to 44 were cohabiting

Are there number on how many of the cohabitants are raising children and/or have a mortgage together?

If they have one or both, but are not married, then the traditional family has just evolved without the need for marriage.

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#56

The chart is just another "wtf happened in 1971" moment. https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/ What happened in 1971? The Nixon Shock, which is when the dollar stopped being convertible to gold after it became evident that the US did not have the gold it claimed to have.

Sorry but it's a lot less conspirational than that. The early 70s is when the long post-war economic boom ended, and corporate profits globally began to contract for an extended period of time, long wave decline. Along with it came a longer term trend of declining take-home earning rights, a huge decline in unionization, waves of inflation followed by severe recessions, etc.

The gold standard stuff is hilariously reductionist.

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#57

Just wait until you see how many of us can't afford houses and will be destitute at 60

marriage makes it possible for some that couldn't afford houses to be able to do so, by pooling resources together.

So, what you're saying is that people marry for economic reasons rather than romantic? And when the romantic partnership fails, should people stay together in the economic partnership because they can't afford to split up?

That's effectively what we've been doing for the past few decades. And the result is as shown in TFA: a generation of adults who will avoid marriage like the plague, because they've seen how toxic the results can be.

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#58

The finances of marriage don't make sense until, what, $75k/yr or more? If you need any sort of public assistance, marriage is a severe eligibility fence.

Is it? If you are married then you no longer have to report your parents income when applying for financial assistance in college. Since most college students are dirt poor, this means you almost certainly qualify for a Pell Grant. I’ve often thought that friends or roommates (of any gender) should get “married” at the beginning of school to qualify for Pell grants and then amicably divorce at the end of college. Is…

Most college students may be poor (is that true though?) but most poor people aren't college students. That this is the main way we think of poverty on this site is a reflection of who is here and our experiences. But it's not representative of how poverty is experienced broadly in the US.

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#59

The chart is just another "wtf happened in 1971" moment. https://wtfhappenedin1971.com/ What happened in 1971? The Nixon Shock, which is when the dollar stopped being convertible to gold after it became evident that the US did not have the gold it claimed to have.

I don't think it's purely economic. I think birth control plus legalized abortion changed relationships, and those happened at roughly the same time. (Roe v. Wade was 1972, IIRC.) The decline of religion also probably plays a role here. You'd have a hard time blaming that on the end of the gold standard. I mean, sure, economics almost certainly plays a role. But it's not the sole cause.

Feminism in general (with birth control and abortion) changed things quite a bit if we consider it including the rise of women in the workforce. Look at the chart of labor participation. I believe its changes at the time mostly reflect women starting to get jobs.

Although, people could maybe speculate that dual income families also became a necessity as a result of worsening economic conditions. I don't know.

(And for the record, I'm not using feminism as a negative word here.)

Re: A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married

#60
post #6

The trend of less education means less marriage is interesting. I think that tells me the root cause is that 25% of 40 year olds are not financially attractive mates. I think this speaks to a broader trend of men not being able to meet the traditional expectations of the breadwinner in an increasingly precarious economy.

Men dont really care about the income of their partner, they're more interested in physical attributes. Maybe women have set much higher standards and the majority of men dont meet those standards. Maybe men just dont want to get married?
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