There are many reasons to support gay marriage -- political reasons, legal reasons, moral reasons, etc. Here’s one we don’t consider enough: More marriage, whether gay or straight, is a good thing for an economy that could use the help.
A new Gallup poll finds that married Americans spend $35 more every day on average than their single counterparts:
Gallup notes that married Americans, on average, have higher incomes than single people. But it's not clear why. Partly, it could be that marriage makes Americans better off -- allowing couples to pool resources and spend more. There's also evidence that better-off Americans are more likely to get married.
Yet, we do know that marriage rates are declining. A larger share of Americans have opted against marriage over the last 50-some years:
But who does want to get married? A whole bunch of wonderfully in love gay people! In fact, a recent survey by Pew Research found more than half of the entire unmarried LGBT community hopes to put a ring on it at some point:
And surprise, surprise, around two-fifths of those surveyed cited financial stability as a critical reason for their wanting to tie that knot down the line:
Bottom line: The economy would benefit from more marriage and the LGBT community is ready and willing should the moment come. With the percentage of married Americans as a whole decreasing, it’s a clear-cut way to give the economy a much-needed boost.