Will The Economy Kill Your Marriage?

TIME:

Recession and divorce, it is said, go together like carriage and horse. Those who labor in Splitsville have several explanations for why that might be. There's the lawyer theory, that money provides the soft fatty tissue that insulates the marital skeleton; once it's cut back and people get a good look at the guts of their relationship, they want out. And there's the marriage-counselor theory, that couples who were never quite on the same page in the checkbook finally get pushed off the ledger by endless bickering over their dwindling resources. And the therapist theory, that financial worries cause stress, stress can cause depression, and depression is a total connubial buzz kill.

"Recessions tend to raise divorce rates," says Nobel laureate and University of Chicago Graduate School of Business economist Gary Becker. "But you won't see a pandemic." Census Bureau figures show that over the past 2 1/2 decades, recessions have had only minor effects on divorce rates, which have been slowly waning since the early '80s after 20 years of steadily rising. Those trajectories have been influenced more by the rise of the women's movement and women's earning power, lower fertility and changes in divorce laws than by dour Dows. The only recorded spike in divorces in the past 75 years came right after World War II.

Read the whole story: TIME

Comments

[Ecoli]

12:12 AM on 10/28/2008

It’s not the economy that will kill your marriage but the babies brought up into this world that will do it.

[Drew2011]

05:06 PM on 10/27/2008

You don't need to let the economy hurt you. Go to www.drew2011.ws and be on you way to economic freedom and a better marriage by having rights to your own internet domains. It's where the money is.

[WIpatriot]

01:19 AM on 10/28/2008

Flagged as self-serving....

[walk0nwalls]

03:35 PM on 10/27/2008

It's certainly putting a dent in my love life. Fledgling as it is.

It's hard to date when you don't have the means or wages to do so. You feel crappy about it.

[slimcat]

11:16 AM on 10/27/2008

If money is the only thing holding your marriage together, you never really had a marriage to begin with. My wife and I have been through many difficult times in our 39 years but we've learned and grown with each. Four months ago she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and we have never been closer than we are right now.

[bluprojekt]

04:29 PM on 10/27/2008

My sympathies on the tragic news - as you stated, you are now closer than before. I have read that when one is diagnosed with an incurable disease, that person experiences a major shift in their life - coming to realization of what's truly important.

I wish for you all those special times with your wife and that you both experience the inner light of presence, joy and peace.

Namste'

[slimcat]

05:28 PM on 10/28/2008

Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words, bluprojekt. They are much appreciated and I'll pass them on to my wife.

[Zeje]

02:53 PM on 10/28/2008

This happened to us too