Economic Impact of Same-Sex Marriage

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Source: Williams Institute

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  1. theexpertisin commented on Jun 29

    Now, LBGTs can join millions of unhappy bastards in the chains of marriage. They are no longer special, you are one of us. And don’t forget the new market for divorce attorneys, which may be the largest group to realize economic benefits.

    Sometimes you get what you wish for.

    • bear_in_mind commented on Jun 30

      @theexpertisin: Maybe that’ll prove true in 20 to 40 years, but after being treated like pariahs since… forever but this is a heckuva lot more than a punchline.

      Not being equal in the eyes of the law is an enormous burden that I doubt you and I have ever faced. Imagine having a long-term committed relationship, but not being able to be bedside in a hospital with a dying partner; or not having equal rights to child custody challenges (bias will no doubt remain); not having equal rights to most tax and estate planning benefits.

      I’ve seen first-hand how families have been torn asunder by these very issues. Ugly beyond words. Look, this decision won’t codify acceptance of LGBT couples in the hearts and minds of tens of millions of Americans. So be it. But at least they’ve been granted an important legal measure of acceptance, equality and redress.

    • Romberry commented on Jun 30

      Marriage rates have been in decline for decades. There is not even a correlation between marriage equality and the declining rates of traditional (religious) marriage. There is a correlation between women’s rise as independent economic actors (in other words, no longer relegated to being the domestic help for their husbands) and the decline of income across the lower and middle classes with the decline of marriage rates, but the argument that marriage equality has anything to do with it is ludicrous.

  2. Molesworth commented on Jun 30

    So with same sex marriage and rising minimum wages,might we get enough economic velocity to get the middle class growing and stable again?

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