Marriage a "luxury item"

The divorce rate is down --- not because more people are renewing their commitment to marriage, but because more people aren't committing to marriage at all.

In The New York Times, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers wrote that despite some gloomy interpretations of the latest Census data, the divorce rate is at its lowest since 1970: "Marriages that began in the 1990s were more likely to celebrate a 10th anniversary than those that started in the 1980s, which, in turn, were also more likely to last than marriages that began back in the 1970s."

W. Bradford Wilcox, professor of sociology at University of Virginia, agreed but noted one reason for the decline: "More and more people are avoiding marriage altogether." The Census Bureau also reported that among men and women aged 25 to 29, 54 percent of men and 41 percent of women had never married. (In 1996, 49 percent of men and 35 percent of women aged 25 to 29 had never married.)

Wilcox also said more children are born out of wedlock and "fewer kids will have the protection of a married mom and dad." According to the National Center for Health Statistics, thirty-six percent of all births in 2004 were to unmarried women.

Wilcox said economic status often affects marital status: "For the well-educated and well-heeled, marriage remains pretty strong. But for working class and poor Americans, marriage is getting weaker by the day." Tax and welfare policies penalize marriage among the poor and working class. They may be less aware of new research that supports marriage, and they are less able to "anchor their marriage and family" by buying a home.

Bottom line, Wilcox said: "Marriage is increasingly a 'luxury item,' entered into by only the best educated, best-off, and happiest couples. No wonder divorce is down."