Is Marriage an Outdated Concept?

[Bitter Creek]

If the purpose of marriage is to provide structure, then it is really not proving to be effective as 1/2 of the marriages committed to in the US today fail and a large and growing percentage of the population is born to couples who aren't married.

Right now, it just seems to be a source of political tension with very little return to society.

Should marriage be a gov't licensed event? And, if so, should getting the license be more difficult and getting out of the contract be even more difficult and punitive than it is? If it is going to exist as a gov't licensed event, shouldn't it be valuable?

As much as I don't like big gov't, it seems as though there would be a better return on requiring couples to get a license to have children (weird thought, and 'no', I'm not in favor of it).
This post was edited on 12/18 8:12 AM by Bitter Creek

 

[Marshal Jim Duncan]

You know the "50% of all marriages in divorce" meme is a myth, right? Per the census buareau, 72% of people in the U.S. are still married to their 1st spouse.

 

[hollywood]

A lot of business partnerships, LLC's, and Corporations fail as well.

Does that fact mean we should jettison those govt sponsored structures?

 

[HighStickHarry]

All contracts should have expiration dates with the option for a mutual renewal.

 

[Bitter Creek]

Originally posted by hollywood:
A lot of business partnerships, LLC's, and Corporations fail as well.

Does that fact mean we should jettison those govt sponsored structures?

Not at all. Business contracts have legitimate purposes.

My point is, does the purpose of marriage measure up against the failure rate and political unrest caused by it. If not, then why keep the system in place?

 

[100TonsofOrangeFury]

Originally posted by Bitter Creek:

Originally posted by hollywood:
A lot of business partnerships, LLC's, and Corporations fail as well.

Does that fact mean we should jettison those govt sponsored structures?

Not at all. Business contracts have legitimate purposes.

My point is, does the purpose of marriage measure up against the failure rate and political unrest caused by it. If not, then why keep the system in place?

What does "measure up against the failure rate and political unrest caused by it" even mean? Every child raised in a committed, married home (not all married homes) is gonna be better off than left with lesser guidance and parented by one person, usually the mother. So one marriage is better than none, there's nothing to balance against this point.

If you want even worse humans walking the street with you, make sure none of them are raised in two parent homes because you did away with marriage. And this is to say nothing of the greater societal ills that would befall us should you turn loose the entire male population with no moral, legal, or social boundaries put in place by having a wife. Good Lord, could you imagine the chaos?

 

[CowboyJD]

Marriage is definitely not an outdated concept.

Wanna know how I know.

My wife told me so, and threaten to shoot me if I disagreed.

 

[Been Jammin]

Originally posted by CowboyJD:
Marriage is definitely not an outdated concept.

Wanna know how I know.

My wife told me so, and threaten to shoot me if I disagreed.

 

[anon_ph7vrsh7abnty]

Marriage isn't easy.

Things that involve hard work do seem to have less of a place in modern times.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[ThorOdinson13]

No, the government should not be in the business of marriage.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[latimdj]

Originally posted by ThorOdinson13:
No, the government should not be in the business of marriage.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

I agree, but if you believe this, you must be ready to give up the tax advantages provided you by the government if they get out of the marriage business....

 

[hollywood]

Much of the same benefits you receive from becoming a corporation, partnership, llc, etc. do line up with the legal benefits you get from being married. From determinations of how to dispose of your assets on your death (inheritance) the right of your spouse to be your attorney in fact if you become incapacitated, tax benefits..... on down the line. There's literally hundreds (if not thousands) of things that make conducting your business as a lawfully (contracted) married couple much, much easier.

So yes, it does compare very favorably to forming a business under state law. I guess you could do much of those things separately (such as grant your significant other your power of atty), but do you want to spend tens of thousands of dollars and a huge chunk of your time doing that, or you could recognize that in one fell swoop you can accomplish all of those things (and leave no question you've got everything covered) by simply entering into a marriage contract, sanctioned by the State.

 

[shortbus]

I'm with Thor.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Sonny Corleone]

Adver nails it.

And message boards are a more outdated concept.

 

[ThorOdinson13]

Certain forms of taxation are also a problem. Hmm, a violation of property rights led to government control and regulation of other liberties. Who would have thunk it?
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[Bitter Creek]

Originally posted by 100TonsofOrangeFury:

Originally posted by Bitter Creek:

Originally posted by hollywood:
A lot of business partnerships, LLC's, and Corporations fail as well.

Does that fact mean we should jettison those govt sponsored structures?

Not at all. Business contracts have legitimate purposes.

My point is, does the purpose of marriage measure up against the failure rate and political unrest caused by it. If not, then why keep the system in place?

What does "measure up against the failure rate and political unrest caused by it" even mean? Every child raised in a committed, married home (not all married homes) is gonna be better off than left with lesser guidance and parented by one person, usually the mother. So one marriage is better than none, there's nothing to balance against this point.

If you want even worse humans walking the street with you, make sure none of them are raised in two parent homes because you did away with marriage. And this is to say nothing of the greater societal ills that would befall us should you turn loose the entire male population with no moral, legal, or social boundaries put in place by having a wife. Good Lord, could you imagine the chaos?

The thing is, as you suggested, marriage doesn't do anything to prevent chaos. We have strong families that are married and some that are not married. We have chaotic "families" that are married and some that are not married.

For the record, I've been married for 25 years (all to the same woman). I'm just trying to decide what role the state really needs to have in issueing a license.

 

[TheRedSon]

This is so dumb. As someone that spends every day of my life working with at risk teens I can tell you for a fact one of the biggest factors in whether or not a kid is going to need my help is whether or not his/her parents are married. It's right up there with drug use, prenatal drug exposure, poverty and abuse.