My parents stayed together when they shouldn't have. I don't know if it was for me, but I do know they were pretty unhappy.

I had a friend once who thought marriages should be term contracts. You try someone out for, say, 5 yrs and if it worked you could renew the contract. I liked the idea because people wouldn't stop trying to please each other if they had to say "I do" again later. If you wanted kids, you could sign a 20-yr contract and so on. It would also stop messy divorces as a prenuptial agreement would be part of the contract.

The sanctity-of-marriage people won't like it, but I think it fits our modern lifestyle much better than the "as long as you both shall live" biblical mandate.

Are you saying what Dr. Phil says? A kid would rather be from a broken home than live in one.

My parents stayed together and they shouldn't have. They're still together but that's because after 30 something years (almost 40), and with money being the way it is, they can't afford to get divorced. They've been sleeping in separate beds, now in separate rooms since I was 13.

"Stay together for the kids" is a horrible idea. It makes it so much more stressful for the children. I have PTSD from my parents relationship. All the fighting, even when they think it's behind closed doors, we know it's there.

I also think that marriage should be an annual (or biannual or longer-term) renewable contract that automatically expires unless both partners want to continue. I would add that if one partner doesn't want to continue and the other one does, that each partner should have the right to insist on 6 months of mediation or counselling before the split.

Also, the whole divorce game is a cash cow for the lawyers, who have a vested interest in divorcing couples fighting - the longer and more adversarial, the more money they make. They typically put their own financial gain above that of the well-being children of the divorcing couple.

Also, if there are children and the divorcing couple can't agree on co-parenting terms, joint custody and equal access ought to be mandated unless there is compelling evidence that it would be detrimental (solid proof - not just one spouse being vindictive against the other and being egged on by the lawyers who profit from these fights to make false accusations).

BTW, I raised my two children by myself (from ages of 5 & 2) after going through much of the wasteful and ridiculous struggle mentioned above. Only the lawyers profited, with money that should have gone to my children's future.

State laws should require that a divorcing couple, if they can't agree on terms, be required to undergo at least 6 months of MEDIATION, BEFORE it can go to an adversarial trial with lawyers involved.

Just out of the gate you only have a roughly 50% chance of a successful marriage...add in a percentage that stay together for the kids, a percentage for finances, a percentage for religion, a percentage that know they couldn't find someone else, a percentage because they are too dumb to get out, etc and you are almost certainly guaranteed to have less than a 15-20% chance of a marriage that is a happy one.

In no other area of your life would you take such crappy odds when so much time, emotional expense, and financial risk were involved, yet people do it all day everyday and act like it's the be all end all.

A group of us sat around one night talking about married couples we knew and we counted 26 divorces. Of those a staggering 22 had ended when the wife left for another man. I told my dad that I was shocked by that and I always thought it was the guys who cheated and he said..."That's silly. Who's goodies are worth more on the open market. A woman can replace a man much easier than a man can replace a woman."

That all being said...my parents are happily married and have been for 50 years next month.

I agree that parents should never, ever stay together for the kids. My father did that, and it was the worst mistake he did. My mother lashed out on all of us, with an ever constant barrage of mental and emotional abuse, controlling us through screaming at the top of her lungs at us, or withholding what we thought was love. My father should have left her, and taken us with him.

I have cut down my drinking, and have allowed severely painful memories bubble to the surface, everything from her constantly telling me that I should have been a boy, on almost a daily basis up until I was in my mid teens, to knowing I had a learning disability, did nothing about it, telling me I was stupid, and later on, used it as an excuse to control my finances up until my mid 20s.

For all of that, I no longer speak to her, my father, or my sister, who developed many of my mother's personality traits. The very thought of speaking to them makes me nauseated and very anxious. Even writing this, I feel like she is going to be over my shoulder, screaming at me.

I'm sorry, but the 'marriage as an annual contract' is about the dumbest thing I have heard. Honestly, I don't care if people get married or not - I lived with my husband for a while before we got married, but if you think you'll change your mind in a few years, then postpone marriage or just don't do it at all. Marriage is a lot more than just shacking up with someone as long as you are comfortable, you are building a life together, therefore making large purchases, taking on debt together, etc, etc...all of these require longer commitments than a year. Regardless you are going to have lawyers involved - and even more so if you are having to renew contracts each year. I can't even imagine how much in lawyers fees would be raked up by having to force an unwilling party into counseling or mediation (mediation is done with lawyers) for 6 months to have them change their minds again in an other year and go back through the process.

Marriage really is a big financial risk for men. According to a WSJ article I read years ago, the average male in the U.S. can expect to lose over 75% of his net worth after losing typically a little more than half of the marriages assets and then paying child support/alimony for years.

If I were a young man these days, I would give some very serious thought before I would commit to a risk like that.

Its a foolish risk considering women are the ones to intiate the divorce 75% of the time.

Most of the divorces I've seen are because of a philandering husband. Sometimes the men are content to have their cake and eat it too, and women get sick of it and finally throw them out. I've been married to the same person over 30 years.

Actually a large portion of states now have 'no fault divorces' with everything split 50/50. A man should never complain about child support (if the children are not with him full-time).

So the CDC is reporting on this because marriage is a disease?

I've been married for 18 happy years to a wonderful man ( we are 37 now--we got married during college, which was stupid--but fun :) I think the thing most couples miss is they expect their spouse to be their "everything" and honestly that is just too much pressure to put on another human being. Young couples expect to have this lasting romantic butterfly feeling and be deliriously happy for the rest of their lives-----who can sustain that kind of nonsense??? Its exhausting!

True love grows over the years and is indescribably comforting and filled with a stable contentment. It is also sacred and deep -----there are no words to describe it. Marriage is about growing old with your best friend,being each others biggest supporters, and building a family ( with or without children) . If you have loyalty, honesty, respect, and a sense of humor in a relationship those qualities will get you most of the way BUT you also need to allow your partner to grow and change as they age.

The thing the world doesn't tell you is that sex changes during marriage----after 20 years it gets better! There will be times in your marriage due to illness, stress, pregnancy, children that sex will be completely off the table and young couples need to know that going into the marriage. There will be times you will be so angry you will want to leave and can't stand looking at the other person but you realize you are building something bigger than yourselves and you forgive and move on.....and you grow. Its an amazing experience but only for the brave of heart.

Kallie - you hit it out of the park with your comments on marriage. So true! I've been married to the love of my life for 26 years now, and we raised three beautiful children into adulthood. It's been no bed of roses though, after all we are both human, from completely different backgrounds. Like all couples who have been together for a long time we've had our battles, and there's been times where we've come close to ending it all. But we stuck it out, and we're both glad we did. We've reached a point where we've developed a very substantial history together, and we want to see it played out to the very end. Being in a lifetime relationship is a lifetime adventure that just too few of us will ever get to experience. How is it done? With a small four-letter word - love.

Both Jim and Kallie are right, but another key is you need to both like and love each other, you will not always be passionately in love with your spouse, but if you like them ( they are your friend) that will carry you through those times, and you certainly will not always like your spouse or their actions, but if you love them, that love will sustain you through those hard times. I've got 34 years of marriage, heading toward 35, raised 2 kids, wouldn't change a thing. One thing to remember, it is not a 50/50 proposition, sometime you have to give a great deal more than you receive. If you expect to always be met halfway you will be disappointed.

mn-1062959 - I would expect to be met halfway or I would expect to hear the other person flat out say that they understood I was really making a sacrifice otherwise I would suspect that I was seeing a very strong sign of a lack of respect from my significant other.

Biannual renewal?? That would be pretty inconvenient for the 50% who don't divorce, or even for the 50% who do eventually divorce, but don't want to yet. I'd have gone through 3 renewals by now, just to accommodate a system designed for failures. Couldn't you achieve a similar end with prenuptial agreements, and leave it optional?

For most of MSNBC.com's audience, they have a much higher marital success rate than 50/50. 78% of college graduate women and 65% of college graduate men make it 20 years. The CDC didn't break out the chance of success for marriages where both spouses are college graduates, but it's presumably higher than the 78% number (since that includes women married to less-educated men). I guess that "4 out of 5 marriages last at least 20 years" isn't nearly as exciting a headline as the one the editors chose...

StMiller, are you married? Because anyone who is married knows that sometimes you are putting in 80% of the effort and you may never be acknowledged for it. But, sometimes you are the one who is incapable of putting in much effort and the roles are reversed. If you expect life to be "fair" all of the time, you will be sorely dissapointed. I have to explain that to my 7 year old son and 6 year old daughter all the time. I have been married for 10 years to a wonderful man who is imperfect, just as I am imperfect. I can be a pretty crappy human being sometimes, but I can be pretty great other times. Same goes for him. You have to look at the marriage as a marathon, not a sprint.

I am glad to hear that there are people that admit that after 20 years, they still love their spouse. Sometimes I feel guilty being so content when there is so much discontent around. Not that there aren't days when I want to choke the life out of my husband. But, it is always helpful to think: Would I be better or worse off without him? And, the fact of the matter is, if your answer is "Way better without him", then get out. Otherwise, a marriage requires patience, forgiveness, pride-swallowing, and sometimes just plain removal from each-other's presence. Just like any best friend can get on your nerves after a while, spouses can too. It really IS more of a marathon than a sprint. Keep your eye on the finish line!

I hate the institution of marriage because it has been used against me as a weapon of slavery, practically, by my own father who forced me to marry when I was a teenager under threat of hurting my sister if I didnt do what he said. I am immensly grateful that people in our society are "allowed" to divorce with no problem, really, and "marriage" is losing its appeal to people that are free-thinking and trustworthy enough that they dont need a legally-binding piece of paper to give someone else control over their mind and bodies. Marriage sucks.

I am sorry you experience was so horrible. No one should be forced to marry. I have been happy in my marriage. I don't consider it slavery, but a partnership. My husband doesn't control anything about me and appreciates my independance. I also know marriage isn't for everyone and support peoples choices, whatever they may be. The important thing is to live life on your own terms.

@rcsdinthehills

It sounds like you ought to reserve your hatred for your father, as disappointing as that is. The issue isn't really the marriage. It's your father's abuse of you and your sister.

I think the age isn't really a factor, I think it is more about life experience. I just turned 24, got married at 23. We are old enough to know that we are compatible and we know what we want...each other. Both of us have our Bachelor's degrees (we went to school together) and we lived together for several years before getting married, so the marriage itself wasn't much of a chance with the exception of paperwork. I think people who get married without cohabitating or at least living away from home first are more likely to get divorced because they can not handle all of the changes that come with it like blending finances, quirks, etc.

Kim, I think you have about 19 years to go before you can talk about how to have a marriage last twenty years.

Kim, the statistics show that people who live together before they marry are more likely to divorce. So I would hold back on that advice.

Bmx, that is one way to look at it. Another consideration is that the older you get, the more likely you are to be ingrained in your rigid ways, and find it more difficult to accommodate another person in your life... especially if both of you are older and well-established. I think there is a happy balance between being young and clueless versus being old and uncompromising!

I got married when I was a month shy of 22 and my DH had just turned 23. We are still going strong 13 1/2 years later. My mom was 23 and my dad was 27 when they married. They are still going strong 36 years later. My aunt was 22 and my uncle 24 when they married. They are still going strong 41 years later. Both sets of grandparents married when they were in their early 20's and both sets made it over 5 decades before death finally parted them.

There is a big difference between marrying as a teenager and marrying as a 20something college graduate. I matured FAR more between 18 and 22 than I did between 22 and 26.

I can believe that. It would be interesting to tease out why college graduates are more successful. I have my assumptions, but it would be interesting to learn whether college itself instills conflict resolutions skills, or whether the kind of people who are successful at navigating relationships are also the people who are successful at navigating academic challenges. Or maybe an external factor altogether? I think it's a relevant question for society. Single parenthood is the leading cause of poverty in the U.S., so if we could identify and address the risk factors for marital failure, perhaps we could improve those odds. I know Florida is working on a pilot program to provide couples counseling for this very reason, but I am unfamiliar with the details.

As a quick disclaimer here, I'm not demeaning those who didn't graduate college-simply stating that a college degree imperfectly correlates with certain qualities.

Obtaining a 4 year college degree means that you have the ability to plan for the long-term, set goals and work toward them, and you reliably "show up" to commitments (classes, etc) more often than not.

I would hypothesize that in the general population, those who are able to set long-term goals and follow through with commitments, however basic those may be, have a lower divorce rate. It just happens that a disproportionate ratio of people with those traits chose to get a degree.

My theory is that communication and problem solving skills are developed and practiced throughout college and graduate schools. Well educated people can focus on their objective (a happy family), and know how to go about getting the resources to to fulfill that objective (money and counseling if needed). And they tend to have learned along the way that nothing in life is easy: they will need focus and tenacity to achieve their goals.

Can you make sure that Santorum or other wretched republican candidates follow your comment. Santorum is so focused on 'Marriage" as procreation and anti gay marriage, that he could actually learn something here.

One of the disease groups that monitor is STDs. Marriage rates tend to affect the rates and is why they are involved. I think they also are a factor in obesity rates. I agree though that this data is already collected by other government agencies, like the Census, BLS and BEA.

I could think of a few reasons a study like this might be relevant to the CDC. People getting married could imply more partners on average than in the past, which could have implications on the spread of STDs. How long marriages last (along with the rate of remarriage and the average number of offspring per marriage) could help identify trends in genetic diseases.

I haven't read the full study, I doubt you have either, and I'd even be surprised if Ms. Carroll did more than pull a few interesting statistics from it. The point is that there was probably more to this study than is mentioned in this article.

Does STD stand for Sickening Terrible Divorce?

My parents got divorced after 36 years of marriage, and their first child (me) was born 4 years after they got married. They were married when she was 18 and he was 22. A month before he asked for a divorce, they went on a vacation to Europe, and my mother had no idea he was unhappy. It was a complete shock.

To me, the point of marriage is to have someone to grow old with, but looking at my parents and my friends' parents, this is not likely to happen. When you get old, you get traded in for a younger model who is prettier and more fun. When I am in a relationship, I think of it in terms of "right now", and don't plan to have a future with someone. That way I'm rarely disappointed.

Mamaw S

23 years this month for my husband & I. Nothing is perfect, most people do not get that & expect 'happily ever after' ... though I have to say we are two very contented people! My parents were married over 40 years before we lost pop, we called them the honeymoon couple, they adored one another. It is most definitely possible to have a good, successful (not perfect, what relationship is guaranteed 100% perfect, so why look for that? They ALL take effort... worthwhile endeavors usually do!!) marriage. Two kids almost 18 & 16. My brother & wife are celebrating their 20th too. I have many friends with happy marriages for over 20 years. It is not a choice top be taken lightly, for sure. I watched my emotions until I really got to know my future husband & how he related to his family along with others. I asked for advise too from older happily marrieds.

It takes UNselfish love, care & respect... which everyone deserves in any relationship... be it parent, sibling, mate, workmate, etc. So many do not get the unselfish part... it's all about 'what am I getting?'. Let me tell you when you are loving & giving, it comes back to you much more than nagging & witching!! (I am a woman & ladies this is mostly for you.... no entitlement issues goes a very long way... I am one very content & happy woman!)

Elpea

Sorry you've been so jaded in life... :(

Well, you can't make it 20 years if you decide it's impossible and refuse to try. But you make an important point. Women shouldn't count on their marriages to last a lifetime and provide them with everything that they need. They need to have some independence. My own mother stopped working after she married (young), didn't have much of a social circle, no education, and she depended on my dad for all her income and attention. It led her to be very critical of him, angry that he was tired and unavailable after work, angry that he wasn't romantic enough, angry that he didn't help with housework, angry at him that she was unsatisfied in life. He didn't leave her, but he did consider it. Her reaction, to me, was: "But I gave him the best years of my life!"

That statement has always made me so angry. What she essentially meant is that she married him when she was young and beautiful, and hoped to "lock in" to lifelong support. Life is what you make of it. The "best years of life" should not be determined by a temporary and unearned trait such as beauty. She had plenty of opportunity to get an education, start a career, make friends, be a kind, loving and supportive spouse. She didn't. Why wouldn't someone "trade in for a newer model" when the old one gets naggy and unappreciative?

The only reason my parents stayed together after their children graduated is because they did a serious overhaul. My mom got a job, and as a result found friends and developed a social life, and no longer expected my dad to provide all this. She was too busy to account for his time and nag him about it, and they are a much happier couple for it.

The stay-at-home mom gig might be practical for families with young children, but beyond that, I think it becomes toxic!

I think most people date for a considerable amount of time before they "take the plunge," but in that time they don't foresee potential conflicts and they fail. I am only in my 20s, but just thinking about my married friends who have divorced, I can't really pinpoint a common reason. I seems most divorces are more private now than they were in my parents' day. Back then, divorce was brutal and ex-couples were on a lifelong mission to destroy each other. Now it seems that people are able to dissolve their marriages privately with tact, and I've noticed most modern divorcees are even Facebook friends. So perhaps society has matured in that way, possibly because so many of us grew up watching messy divorces. But it really makes it hard to tease out the causes when you don't know them. Infidelity is a common one, but the reason for the initial infidelity I don't know. Illness prompted some divorces. A spouse's videogame addiction led to at least a few I know of - which speaks volumes about the maturity level of the couple! Ironically, all the couples who married just after high school are still together, so I'm tempted to dismiss the age factor. But that is, of course, a limited demographic: my own friends.

I'm also a tax accountant and while there is no true tax benefit until you have a higher level income there is not a difference for lower income people. The financial aspect comes into play because a mother or father claiming one income and two kids is more likely to qualify for government assistance than a married couple showing dual income with kids.

My Dad died the year my parents would have had their 60th wedding anniversary. My parents were inseparable - they did everything together. They taught me and my siblings many things about a successful marriage, just by watching them as we grew up. It is a partnership and it takes a lot of hard work. You have to regularly pull the weeds to make it grow! Support each other during good times and bad. My Mom always told me my Dad was one in a million, and I never knew what she meant by that until I was well into my '20s. My Dad never said a hurtful word to my Mom and always had her best interests in mind. He kissed her often and lovingly slapped her behind when she was doing the dishes. After they retired, Dad brought her breakfast in bed EVERY DAY, until the day he died. He treated her like his best friend, and she him, which is the way a marriage should be. To this day I've never met a man who treats his wife the way my Dad treated my Mom, but my husband is a close second.

My husband's parents just had their 60th wedding anniversary and they are very happy. The one thing I don't understand though, is that since I have known them, they sleep in separate beds and in separate rooms. My parents slept in the same bed their entire married lives. I can't imagine not sleeping with my husband.

My parents were the same way... adored one another. (never slept apart, even through snoring.. lol) Sadly, she lost her best friend in 2007 ..suddenly. But as you said, they left a good role model for us. My husband & I are celebrating our 23rd... on Sunday :). We joke & play like newlyweds too. There are always outside pressures, but we still don't let those things make us nasty to each other. We say I love you every day & "more!" after the other says it... something my parents started... and our kids say it to us also! We pat butts, pinch too & are very playful. It does not have to get routine. We also do not take each other for granted.

Your words & mine were summed up correctly & beautifully when you wrote... "He treated her like his best friend, and she him, which is the way a marriage should be." So nice to hear some from others with happy marriages & what it really takes. Glad to know you. :) You too...MahwahDK :)

Single parents are the norm and I think it's a wonderful idea. Just say "I don't"!!

Except for, you know, all that statistical evidence that shows that kids coming from single-parent homes are worse off.

Also, I know some of you are going to come here and say, "well, I grew up just fine!"

Anecdotal evidence doesn't count.

I would suggest most successful marriages (those that do last 20+ years) are not about one person having control over the other. Control is only an issue when someone is misusing the concept of marriage. These same people are just as likely to abuse their status as employers or parents to exert undue control over their employees or children. That doesn't mean the concepts of employment and parenthood are a mistake, just that some people are prone to abusing them.

Well-said, Fizzled. I challenge anyone to look at the poverty statistics who thinks single parenthood is the way to go. I also believe that a person will only be controlling if the other person allows it. The confidence that comes with education and pre-martial independence will protect a person from manipulative behaviors in a marriage. Marriage isn't the problem; it's the unhealthy behaviors of the individuals. Pre-marriage counseling can identify and address these tendencies, as can a healthy financial and social safety net.

Children are MUCH better off long term when they come into a home with a married couple. Period. Having children is a lifelong commitment for both the parent. You will be sharing diapers and graduations and weddings and grandchildren together. If someone is not good enough to marry, why in the world would you assume they are good enough to co-parent with? Too many people think that having a baby is like getting a puppy. I assure you, it is not something anyone should do half-as*ed. You owe it to your kid to be "all-in" 100%. The kit and caboodle. Marriage, siblings, good schools, dental care, mini-van, little-league...the works. If you think it is too much of a sacrifice, or does not fit into your world view, then PLEASE do not do it. You have a choice. Just say and do "I don't"

It's SO much easier to have two parents taking care of, and raising, children than just one! Even if you trade them off between two parents (like in a post-divorce situation), you have the kids 100% of the time for a few days. My mom was a single parent of 3 and it aged her immensely. If you have kids, and you're married, and you want to be there for the kids, you just cannot divorce because you're "unhappy". Too bad, you owe it to the kids to be there for them - you caused your own mess, now you get to keep it until they're old enough to move out and take care of themselves!

They divided it by men and women, so you would count as a woman in her first marriage and he would count as a man in his second.

conservative right has to find something to 'hate' and discredit.... its all part of the mantra and enforcing their religious beliefs on the majority.

Just because immoral straight people have damaged marriage, doesn't mean that further damage should be allowed. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Divorces should be a lot harder to get than they are. The only good excuse is if someone is being abused (physically or mentally/emotionally).

"Divorces should be a lot harder to get than they are."

That's not going to happen. There is an entire divorce industry. Lawyers and mediators who handle nothing but divorce. Civil courts that deal with almost nothing but divorce and the consequences.

Way too much money tied up in it for the government to interfere.

I remember when I lived in texas that some Politician down than was running ads on his previous successes, including increasing the ease of getting divorces.

Folks making it harder to get a divorce will only make people not get married or make them more unhappy in the long run. Once things go downhill it's hard to bring it back up.

Larry King can marry 8 times, but a gay couple who is together for 20 years can't do the same. Now that's ruining the "sanctity of marriage"!

And Larry King should not have been allowed to do that.

So now, we're going to say who should and shouldn't get married? Who gets to decide? You? Tread lightly, unless you want to be told who you can or can't marry/divorce/shack up with/have kids with. Marriage is a contract between consenting adults, and unless you are one of the adults involved, it's none of your business.

People have forgotten all of the politician debates and huge outcry against interracial marriages already?

@Some Guy-5289621 What are you, the procreation police? Just because you want or enjoy having kids doesn't mean everybody does or even should. You aren't the thought police either, so don't try telling other people what they want or think.

Some Guy sounds like he's got Some Issues! Your situation sounds like what might be stored for me in my thirties. If it had been so important for them to have kids, they would have had them already. There are many people living kid free and it's not the stigma it used to me. With so many abused and neglected kids out there how can you talk about "the joy of children". How about, kudos to you for having a happy marriage despite the odds!

@Someguy. Not everybody has or wants kids you know. My husband and I are NOT having kids and we are more than happy with that. I'd rather come home and spend time with my husband or go out to dinner instead of listening to a child scream and changing poopy diapers any day. I know this isn't the case for everyone but we just don't want the responsibility of parenthood and nobody has the right to tell us that we "do" want that.

Some Guy is probably projecting his love for family and kids into the situation and just can't imagine anyone else not wanting the joy he's experienced. Kim is the perfect example that not everyone values raising kids and being a parent, and from what I've seen, there are a lot of people who found that out way too late.

Some guy, Nope I never wanted kids nor did my husband, if you have to know, that was a decision we made before we were married.

And I am not kidding myself either.

Please don't tell me what my thoughts are either, you have no clue as to what type of person I am or my background I come from that shaped my decision.

Kimmmmmmm

"My husband and I are NOT having kids and we are more than happy with that. I'd rather come home and spend time with my husband or go out to dinner instead of listening to a child scream and changing poopy diapers any day."

I don't know about that? Didn't you say you have been married for like one year and you're just in your twenties? You or your husband might change your mind later.

I think Some Guy said what a lot of us are thinking when we hear about a couple who didn't have kids, but we just know better than to come out and say it! I've always wanted kids, since I can remember. I didn't want to have them before I was married or before I graduated from college, but I knew I wanted them and was very excited to reach a point in my life when I could. I know a lot of people from big families that didn't want kids; perhaps they were too overwhelmed in childhood to go through with it as adults. I came from a medium-size family that was very close, and our parents incorporated us into their lives, and so sharing my life and hobbies with kids comes naturally and is enjoyable. Personally, I just can't relate at all to the idea of not wanting kids ever, but for a lot of people I know it's genuine.

They are the Center for Disease Control. Marriage is a disease. ergo...

"They are the Center for Disease Control. Marriage is a disease. ergo..."

Ray Butt LOL

I have yhe same question - AND how much taxpayer money was spent interviewing the people in their homes and then writing the report? What value did we get for those dollars? I want my money back!

Maybe these fine christian men are finding their tool plugs into a different socket? Hehe

Two of the three aforementioned + the marriage are still going strong in my home. The chainsaw crapped out at 16 yrs.

Go for it. I wouldn't mind a tax break for honoring a commitment I made 42 years ago. I won't stand at the mailbox waiting for a check though.

No, the men's marriages don't end in divorce. The women die of exhaustion. (just kidding. I think)