In effect, Congress has decided to penalize marriage most at life stages when children benefit most from the commitment of more than one adult.
For young, low-income couples: Earn an additional $10,000, and it’s not uncommon to be left with half of that amount or less, even before counting the cost of items like commuting to work and childcare.
By contrast, when couples are past the normal child rearing age, Social Security is designed so that there are almost no marriage penalties and only marriage bonuses — in the range of $100,000 or more.
How the Tax and Welfare Systems Penalize Marriage
John C. Goodman is President of the Goodman Institute and Senior Fellow at The Independent Institute. His books include the soon-to-be-published updated edition of Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis, the widely acclaimed A Better Choice: Healthcare Solutions for America, and New Way to Care: Social Protections that Put Families First. The Wall Street Journal and National Journal, among other media, have called him the “Father of Health Savings Accounts.”
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