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There are 96 million people in the United States who have no spouse. That means 43 percent of all Americans over the age of 18 are single, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Single" is defined as adults who have never been married, are divorced or are widowed in the bureau's America's Families and Living Arrangements survey of 2009.
Of the singletons, 61 percent of them have never said "I do." Twenty-four percent are divorced and 15 percent are widowed.
...
More than half of the unmarried Americans are women. And for every 100 single women, there are 88 unmarried men available
So in other words, the women are getting increasingly picky.
an ever increasing trend that people get smarter with age?
Hardly. The internet has helped get the word out that marriage is a high risk activity for men. Most men have consequently raised their standards, although this is hardly a guarantee. However, there is nothing more pathetic than a guy stuck in an unhappy union, knowing that he will be taken to the financial cleaners should he try to get out.
However, in the past, when those over 65 were young, both men and women had a strong need to get married. Men certainly no longer have any need and those women who have it together, may have the desire but don't have much need either. Those who don't have it together are often the least capable of attracting a suitable man.
So in other words, the women are getting increasingly picky.
Wrong. There isn't enough information to draw a conclusion. You say this shows women are becoming increasingly picky. But I could just as easily say it shows that men are the ones being picky. And all I have to do to support my claim is cite posts like the one above by NotARedneck. If it's true that, as he claims, more and more men see marriage as a high risk activity, then that would explain why many are still single and why there are so many women who are still single. Maybe they keep meeting these single men who say "no thanks" to getting married.
What percentage are gay (and without a "beard"), or nuns, or in institutions (criminal, group homes for developmentally disabled, or otherwise). Are the people who are not allowed to marry because of religious, legal, or developmental reasons (think Prader Willie, fetal alcohol syndrome, etc) lumped in with everyone else? How about the homeless with significant mental problems?
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