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Promoting Marriage Has Failed and Is Unnecessary to Cut Poverty (2015)

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Re: Promoting Marriage Has Failed and Is Unnecessary to Cut Poverty (2015)

#2

Post by lmm »

> Once you understand how this marriage anti-poverty story works, two things should immediately occur to you. First, it's not marriage that's cutting poverty here. It's the recombination of income. If you marry someone who does not add extra income to your family, that will do nothing to reduce your chance of poverty and, because your family is now bigger, it could even drag your family into poverty. Adding someone to a resource pod only reduces that pod's chance of poverty where, as a result of the addition, the increase in the pod's income is greater than the increase in the pod's poverty line. Sometimes marriages accomplish this, sometimes they do not.

This is missing the point. The argument is not that being married increases your average income, it's that pooling risks (like that of losing one or other of your jobs) reduces them, that it increases the ability to provide childcare (which is better measured in hours than dollars, so income isn't really the point), and perhaps that it allows certain efficiencies in housing, transport etc. And I guess if you want to look at the dark side then the final argument is that it ensures parents are in a fixed, stable relationship, reducing the likelihood of endangering their children through their dating behaviour.

Re: Promoting Marriage Has Failed and Is Unnecessary to Cut Poverty (2015)

#4

Post by lr4444lr »

lmm wrote: post #2

> Once you understand how this marriage anti-poverty story works, two things should immediately occur to you. First, it's not marriage that's cutting poverty here. It's the recombination of income. If you marry someone who does not add extra income to your family, that will do nothing to reduce your chance of poverty and, because your family is now bigger, it could even drag your family into poverty. Adding someone t…

There's also a correlational issue: do people - with the maturity and fortitude to stay committed to a lifelong relationship and forestall the temporary (or even not so temporary) urge to leave someone out of boredom, irritation, and desire to reclaim independence - tend to succeed in education and the workforce by exercising those same character traits? Even the accurate recognition and prioritization of risk mitigation connotes similar traits.

Re: Promoting Marriage Has Failed and Is Unnecessary to Cut Poverty (2015)

#6

Post by chongli »

lmm wrote: post #2

> Once you understand how this marriage anti-poverty story works, two things should immediately occur to you. First, it's not marriage that's cutting poverty here. It's the recombination of income. If you marry someone who does not add extra income to your family, that will do nothing to reduce your chance of poverty and, because your family is now bigger, it could even drag your family into poverty. Adding someone t…

The rise in housing prices, particularly in neighbourhoods with access to a decent public school, has totally wiped out any advantage you might have gained by pooling risks. What once was a 1-income household with a single point of failure is now a 2-income household where neither person can afford to lose their job!

Re: Promoting Marriage Has Failed and Is Unnecessary to Cut Poverty (2015)

#7

Post by gm-conspiracy »

lr4444lr wrote: post #4
lmm wrote: post #2

> Once you understand how this marriage anti-poverty story works, two things should immediately occur to you. First, it's not marriage that's cutting poverty here. It's the recombination of income. If you marry someone who does not add extra income to your family, that will do nothing to reduce your chance of poverty and, because your family is now bigger, it could even drag your family into poverty. Adding someone t…

There's also a correlational issue: do people - with the maturity and fortitude to stay committed to a lifelong relationship and forestall the temporary (or even not so temporary) urge to leave someone out of boredom, irritation, and desire to reclaim independence - tend to succeed in education and the workforce by exercising those same character traits? Even the accurate recognition and prioritization of risk mitiga…

Remember the unfortunate murder of the Google exec by his escort?

Anecdotal counterpoint:

http://heavy.com/tech/2014/07/forrest-timothy-hayes-google-a...

I apologize for referencing this, but your comment reminded me of this horrific situation.

Re: Promoting Marriage Has Failed and Is Unnecessary to Cut Poverty (2015)

#8

Post by sbjustin »

chongli wrote: post #6
lmm wrote: post #2

> Once you understand how this marriage anti-poverty story works, two things should immediately occur to you. First, it's not marriage that's cutting poverty here. It's the recombination of income. If you marry someone who does not add extra income to your family, that will do nothing to reduce your chance of poverty and, because your family is now bigger, it could even drag your family into poverty. Adding someone t…

The rise in housing prices, particularly in neighbourhoods with access to a decent public school, has totally wiped out any advantage you might have gained by pooling risks. What once was a 1-income household with a single point of failure is now a 2-income household where neither person can afford to lose their job!

I imagine you probably live somewhere where the cost of living is significantly higher than the rest of the country. I left the Washington DC Metro area which is exactly as you describe and moved to Greenville, SC. My wife has been able to be a stay at home mom here and we get access to a decent education for our daughter. Any difference in quality of education can be made up by the parents imo.

Leaving an area which required 2 parents to work has been one of the greatest things I've ever done and I won't go back. We are significantly happier without that pressure.

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