One thought on “Cohabitation law reform moves forward as government plans consultation”

1. I’m sure we’ll end up with this law. Today there is this “Single men ‘significantly’ poorer amid collapse in marriage rates” Single men ‘significantly’ poorer amid collapse in marriage rates And of course this is reported as the “marriage premium” as if married or cohabiting men are somehow paid more than their unpartnered male contemporaries because they are in stable relationships. Whereas in real life the adage that a man marrying “loses a friend and gains a dependent” is closer to the truth. At which point there is a spur to ambition because the demands on the chap have increased. Furthermore of course the partnered man is statistically likely to have another income increase after the birth of his first child, at the same time married or partnered women have a statistical likelihood of income reduction! As the latter has time off and or reduces hours so the man has another “spur” to increase his income to cover the gap. Yet another myth that somehow the patriarchy simply bungs men extra dosh just because he’s an man. Whereas the truth is that there remains the social expectation (from both sexes) that the man will take on the majority of the “bread winning” role, in preparation for times when his female partner will want “family friendly” work patterns. This truth spurs the ambitions of men who want to “do the right thing” and support and protect their family.

   It is bizarre how we have this notion jobs and wages are just handed out like a form of welfare benefit, rather than earned by doing work. The “marriage premium” is a myth and therefore it should be no surprise that single men earn less. Partly because for some their low earnings make them less attractive to potential partners (hypergamy) and partly because men generally consume far less than women and so can coast along fulfilling their needs. After all back in the days some firms did pay more to a young man once he got married was because they knew they’d get a loyal worker whose responsibilities at home made him desperate to keep his job and progress in his work. Single men (and women) were more likely to “job hop”.

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