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Old 13th August 2010, 09:17 AM   #9
Wiggle
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Re: Should Governments support Marriage?

I've been thinking about this in my current situation - who benefits, financially, from families / couples breaking up?

We go from one household, to two. That's an increase in council tax (allowing for the single inhabitant discount), an increase in energy bills (and the subsequent VAT), water bills, all VAT from the bits and pieces that have to be bought to furnish and then keep a second residence running, contents insurance, possibly an extra vehicle - in short, it could be argued that the government and the economy benefit in the short term financially from the break down of marriage (cynical? Moi?)

The longer term costs resulting from marriage breakdown - poorer health, increased stress placing extra strain on the NHS, problem children turning to crime and / or drugs etc are harder to quantify and therefore the benefits of marriage in helping to prevent the above are also hard to quantify. So whilst the financial benefits (to the gov) of marriage breakdown are obvious, the cost benefits of supporting marriage are not so obvious...

Now I hasten to add I am fully in support of marriage!