[Dr. Sivana]

$40K per year your entire “adult” life on welfare vs $25K per year for the last half of her life? Seems like a no-brainer to me for the brainless amongst us.

In real life, it gets more complicated. Our children are adopted, and marriage usually makes adoption easier, certainly when the birth mother has a say. My income taxes go down with a joint return. In the earlier years of our marriage, my health insurance allowed for more choice for my wife and children than the welfare version (the gap is narrowed now . . . it's all pretty bad).

I'm not saying there isn't a marriage penalty (or an out-of-wedlock mom bonus), but it isn't completely one-sided. In any event, I am more than willing to pay for the privilege of calling my life-long partner my wife. She would certainly not accept any lower title.

[Roos_Girl]

“She would certainly not accept any lower title.”

That’s because she is a quality woman. Too bad there seem to be a fair percentage that are happy to settle for more money with less dignity.