Living together provides sharing of rent, but getting married means losing SNAP, discounted daycare, higher EITC, so they don’t get married.
Welfare disincentivizes it.
Welfare disincentivizes [marriage].
Right you are. Back in the 60s, welfare workers actually made surprise visits to homes of single mothers claiming benefits, trying to catch a man in the home. They’d actually look in closets and under beds, searching for men’s clothes or shoes.
That isn’t done any more. The women live openly with baby daddy, but he and his income just aren’t included in paperwork.
A “low income” woman in our town got a new home, totally free courtesy of the taxpayer, for herself and 3 brats. Baby daddy is a long haul truck driver, makes good money. Parks his truck’s cab in the driveway when he’s home.