The Benefits of Marriage

by Cathi Herrod

When you filed your taxes last month, did you know where your money was headed? Much of our taxpayer money went to the costs of divorce and of families breaking apart. Divorce and single-parent homes cost our country $112 billion each and every year, according to The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing, a report published by The Institute for American Values.

Studies over the years have shown the social benefits of marriage and the social costs of divorce. Time magazine recently reported on marriage’s health and psychological benefits. And it is widely known that children are best suited to be raised in households with a married mom and dad. Yet, this is the first study of society’s strictly monetary costs of single-parent homes and of children being raised outside of marriage. “Family fragmentation” causes the government to spend money on antipoverty programs, as well as to pay additional educational and justice system costs. The statistics remind us that marriage is not just a social institution but an economic one as well.

In light of the recent economic downturn, these numbers should be taken seriously: over $1 trillion dollars of U.S. taxpayer dollars are paying for “family fragmentation” costs each decade. Of the annual costs, $70.1 billion are at the federal level, $33.3 billion at the state, and $8.5 billion at the local level. Our own state, facing a budget crisis, spends 10.3% of its tax dollars on costs of family fragmentation – that is approximately $654 million tax dollars.

A mere 1% reduction in family fragmentation would result in taxpayer savings of $1.12 billion annually. Texas, for example, is spending $15 million over the next two years for programs to strengthen marriage, and even if these programs realized only a 0.3% increase in stable marriages, the state would save over $9 million annually.

With the potential for significant returns from even small investments, other states should jump on board. Our communities, our churches, and our schools need to start teaching the importance of strong marriages, and the terrible costs of broken homes. Strong marriages have always been a good idea, but now we realize they just make common cents.

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Cathi Herrod is the President of the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP). To learn more about CAP visit their website at www.azpolicy.org.

© 2008 Good News Tucson™