News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on For Long-Term Health and Happiness, Marriage Still Matters. Parent comment

Re:For Long-Term Health and Happiness, Marriage Still Matters by xyzelement on Sunday March 19, 2023 @08:58PM (#35225796)
If marriage is a virtuous institution that improves well being of society and brings about the next generation, why shouldn't it be promoted this way?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:For Long-Term Health and Happiness, Marriage Still Matters by bell-cot on Sunday March 19, 2023 @09:44PM (#35226219)
1 - Does such direct promotion actually work? My vague impression is "poorly, at best".

2 - How much overhead cost (especially legal & bureaucratic) does the promotion create? Note that politicians getting to congratulate themselves on being yet more pro-marriage is not a benefit for society.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:For Long-Term Health and Happiness, Marriage Still Matters by xyzelement on Sunday March 19, 2023 @10:23PM (#35226498)
It at the very least sends a message about what our society values.

Something I noticed is at least nominally rewarded by the tax code: be married, have kids, buy a house, save energy, give charity.

All the right messages.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:For Long-Term Health and Happiness, Marriage Still Matters by loeg on Monday March 20, 2023 @12:44AM (#35227387)
Prior to like, 2017, the tax code used to impose a significant marriage penalty on couples with similar incomes; now it only imposes some smaller penalties. It is extremely recent that the tax code wasn't an active disincentive to get married for many couples. Being married is mostly not rewarded, unless one partner is a homemaker.

(Home ownership, parenting, and charity are rewarded by the tax code in a way that is unrelated to marriage.)

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marriage-penalty.asp

[ Parent | on HN ]