Home Alone…

…and loving it.

Via Arts & Letters Daily, The Christian Science Monitor reports on the shift toward solo living in these United States. Among the brewing implications may be political clout:

Thomas Coleman, executive director of Unmarried America in Glendale, Calif., wants political parties to recognize singles. They make up 35 percent of voters, giving them potential power in the polling booth.

Even so, Mr. Coleman says, "It's a tough sell. Democrats seem to take the single vote for granted. Republicans are traditionally, understandably more family, family, family." He also sees the need for a singles-friendly workplace campaign to counterbalance popular work-family initiatives. At the same time, he emphasizes that his organization is not antifamily.
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Adds Coleman, "Even though single people are not organized politically, the sheer numbers, the weight of those numbers is eventually going to force change, slowly."

Comments

[Jason Ligon]

It baffles me not that there are singles, but that there is a 'singles agenda'. Is it like the homosexual agenda we always hear about?

[MP]

Jason:

The tax code is heavily weighted in favor of married couples and families. The 'singles agenda' is not as much a social agenda as it is a tax fairness issue.

[HGB]

Brace yourself, MP, people are going to come in here wailing about the "marriage penalty" and how married people pay more taxes. To married people, I say this: prepare three returns -one joint and two singles - then decide how to file. Penalty my ass.

[joe]

I thought married people weren't allowed to file two individual returns.

[John Ramsay]

It's definately cheaper to be married than single as far as taxes go.

Never mind 1,000 per kid, which is a pretty good benefit, at least to make new people who will be paying off the current administration's debt.

All I need are school vouchers to pay for my kid's parochial school tuition and I'll be making a profit from parenthood.

[Warren]

It's not just taxes, single people are discriminated against in many ways. Try running for office sans spouse and offspring for example.

[Businesspundit]

I believe the marriage penalty only applies if you take the standard deduction. Since most people buy a house soon after they are married, it rarely applies. They then usually have enough to itemize.

[Come'On, Now]

I am with Bill Maher, Marriage is a penalty!

Look, we are in an age where the common worker doesn't even stay with a company for more than 5 years, layoffs aside. With that kind of loyality, how can one be expected to stay with the same domestic partner?

I seem to have lost my bottle of Ritlin, again.

[Todd Fletcher]

Hermits of the world, unite!

[Anonymous]

...all the lonely people, where do they all come from...

[Citizen]

I think all they're really saying is "People are getting married later than they used to." Which shouldn't be news to anyone savvy enough to read the CSM. In the article there is talk of religious and cultural activites geared to the singles of today ... in their 20s and 30s. Goodness. I'm not married, but I wouldn't say that that is indicitive of a determined lifestyle choice. I just haven't gotten to it, yet. I think that's true if most singles in their 20s and 30s. Those "singles activities" are all directed at singles meeting each other because they don't want to be singles anymore. If you start seeing a trend of 30s, 40s and 50s opting out of family - well that's news.

[amr]

I'd guess that "recogniz[ing] singles" by parties would have little electoral traction. Just as Democrats can't get enough traction with anti-rich rhetoric for the non-rich as many non-rich hope to one day be rich, many singles see themselves as future family-members.

[Fred Gillette]

Well, I'm finaly a trend setter.

When I was 15 I decided not to get married until I was 35 and had the then equivalent savings of $15,000. It was an easy decision to make given that the year was 1970 and the environmental movement made me aware that the earth had plenty of people already. Why else get married than to create babies.

In 1974 I overheard an ignorant sounding person in the mess hall say that he was sick and tired of living in the barracks and that he was going to marry the first woman he met and he didn't care how ugly she was. I am sure that man is continuing to spread joy to this very day.

As i push 50, I now see a more noble reason to be other than single. Dude, I'm getting old and it's time to have fun. But with my luck I'd end up with some whining old nag who's sole purpose in life is to make my life miserable.

[David Tenner]

Can you have a civil union with yourself?

[Douglas Fletcher]

Leave it to Beaver.