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I sense the economic "good ol' days" are history now and the common people are in for decades of pain and despair. This is a new kind of crisis, one America has never faced before.
I was reading a thread on the Work & Employment Board where someone asked "How do you make it on minimum wage" Overwhelming the majority replied, "I'm single so it's not that bad." Is that our future---a nation of singles because getting married and having children will be such a burden financially that only the wealthiest 10% will be able to do it? Think of the implications for this nation, if not world, if 70% of us are saying, "I won't marry and have children because on my salary I can't afford to."
Think of the implications for this nation, if not world, if 70% of us are saying, "I won't marry and have children because on my salary I can't afford to."
I've said this for years and years even when the economy was good!!
Combining incomes and sharing expenses makes the cost of living much more affordable than for a single. Marriage has lifted a lot of people out of poverty. If people choose to get into debt for their lavish weddings and other nonessential expenses, that would be their choice.
Combining incomes and sharing expenses makes the cost of living much more affordable than for a single.
Exactly. The OP's premise makes no sense whatsoever. No household is more expensive to maintain than a single's household. Sharing is more economical provided both people pull their weight, of course. Living with some deadbeat certainly CAN ruin you financially.
I think we are going to be seeing a lot of unusual living arrangements as people band together to make life more affordable. Reasons to marry or stay single will have a bigger economic factor included in the mix. Here's what I see in the future.
There will be more May/December marriages. Older financially secure men will marry younger women.
It will be much easier for financially secure men to attract women.
Many people will not marry because of their partner's debts. They don't want to end up paying for debts they didn't incur. Or be responsible for ongoing child support, etc.
People will not marry because of credit. If I have excellent credit and my partner does not, I won't marry him until we have a home and everything else we need for the foreseeable future.
People will marry if one or the other has a pension with survivor benefits. This has been done forever and it will become more common. The last thing one of my friends did before she died of cancer was get married. She wanted her pension to go to a good friend. Neither one had ever been married before.
Responsible people won't have more children than they can afford. I guess that will mean fewer children.
There will be more 'Stay at Home' adults in group living arrangements. One person will manage the house/yard and tend the garden for food. Everyone else will work outside the home. More communal type living arrangements.
I'm thinking this is just the tip of the iceberg. What does everyone else think?
no the economy is forcing them to be smarter and listen to wisdom & experience.
as the period of mega affluence goes out the window financial sobriety will return .
as to not marrying-- that was already happening, marriage down 50%, divorce up 50%, you can thank no fault divorce and marriage property & debt law for that. guys dont wana be property. you should never be able to assign debt to another human being or take their property without their written consent. marriage law has become evil. prenups dont work-- they get thrown out of court daily.
Exactly. The OP's premise makes no sense whatsoever. No household is more expensive to maintain than a single's household. Sharing is more economical provided both people pull their weight, of course. Living with some deadbeat certainly CAN ruin you financially.
One reputable reference among hundreds:
The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke" by Elizabeth Warren.
Quote:
Warren describes how, since the 1980s, families with children have endured a 100% increase in housing costs, while increases in wages have not kept up with inflationary costs. In real wages, two-income families do not make any more than single-income families made in the 1970s. Warren understands that the fault lines of the economic crisis — the foreclosures, the bankruptcies, the credit defaults -- are primarily the result of families who cannot afford to survive in today’s inflated marketplace. Our empty savings accounts are not prepared to handle a crisis that carries big financial repercussions with it--e.g. divorce, medical issues, job losses.
My premise is that couples will want to marry but will not, not because of debts and credit problems of the other partner or the cost of the ceremony, or other variables but because in today's economy with two children in tow (the traditional "nuclear" family--and "nuclear" is the right adjective, literally) they know they will explode like a thermonuclear warhead if they get married and will just opt to stay single and have casual sex. If an unwanted child comes along they will choose to abort. Much cheaper in the long run, and what we have coming at us like a freight train in the long run is a 100-mile marathon!
Last edited by thrillobyte; 10-18-2009 at 01:25 PM..
Reason: addition
I sense the economic "good ol' days" are history now and the common people are in for decades of pain and despair. This is a new kind of crisis, one America has never faced before.
I was reading a thread on the Work & Employment Board where someone asked "How do you make it on minimum wage" Overwhelming the majority replied, "I'm single so it's not that bad." Is that our future---a nation of singles because getting married and having children will be such a burden financially that only the wealthiest 10% will be able to do it? Think of the implications for this nation, if not world, if 70% of us are saying, "I won't marry and have children because on my salary I can't afford to."
And I'm thinking that if this would happen, that would be the very best thing to happen to our planet. We are way overpopulated with human beings. And the recession is because there aren't enough good jobs to go around.
If the human population could eventually go down to what it was in the 1960's... wow. That would be a great thing.
Even when the economy was better a lot of people chose to wait until they were more financially stable to start having kids. Living in a dual income household is supposed to help make up for the added expense of children, but maybe it will make people realize the importance of education, so they are better able to compete in the workforce.
Edit: I would like to add, that this economy shouldn't be a reason to stay single. It should be a reason to be smarter with finances, the number of children people choose to have, and exactly how "big" of a house they think they need.
Last edited by floridadreamer; 10-18-2009 at 01:33 PM..
I sense the economic "good ol' days" are history now and the common people are in for decades of pain and despair. This is a new kind of crisis, one America has never faced before.
I was reading a thread on the Work & Employment Board where someone asked "How do you make it on minimum wage" Overwhelming the majority replied, "I'm single so it's not that bad." Is that our future---a nation of singles because getting married and having children will be such a burden financially that only the wealthiest 10% will be able to do it? Think of the implications for this nation, if not world, if 70% of us are saying, "I won't marry and have children because on my salary I can't afford to."
There's the old saying: Two can live just as cheaply as one. Far from causing people to remain single, I'd think this "new economy" would herald in a wave of people hooking up for financial reasons. Now kids, that IS another story. They are expensive.
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Is that our future---a nation of singles because getting married and having children will be such a burden financially that only the wealthiest 10% will be able to do it? Think of the implications for this nation, if not world, if 70% of us are saying, "I won't marry and have children because on my salary I can't afford to." 
Economy?
