Two Parent Privilege

[zil2]

5 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

1. What do people mean, when they say "marriage penalty"?  When you file taxes with the status "Married filing jointly", your taxes tend to be lower than single, or Married filing separately...

I'm interested in understanding this, too.  For the majority of my life, I filed as a single person with no dependents and so I know full well I'm funding you married folk and parents.

1 hour ago, prisonchaplain said:

(quite making couples who marry pay more taxes than those who are shacking up)

Is there a "shacking up" status on the tax form that I missed?  Please explain.

[JohnsonJones]

3 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

Ways to encourage two-parent families:

1. End the marriage penalty (quite making couples who marry pay more taxes than those who are shacking up)

2. End the death tax (why shouldn't parents be allowed to pass down to their children the fruits of their labors without government confiscating the lion's share of it?)

3. Expand the Earned Income Credit (this is actually a moderate-to-liberal idea, but one I like)

4. Raise the income rates at which child credits become less then phase out

5. Encourage school choice--especially through tuition tax credits

6. Generally promote a culture of life rather than a culture of death. Population control schemes tend to end badly. Besides, wealthier countries are already running the risk of depopulation.  

 

I'd add a few more, though they would definately not be as popular as the ones you list.

7.  Get rid of no-fault divorce.  This would be unpopular.  It would probably need to go hand in hand with protective services ramping up for woman (one reason many see getting rid of this as unpopular is because woman tend to use the no fault divorce more often and many times it is to get away from an abuser or similar things to that effect...even if it is..."no-fault"). 

8.  Return the stigmatization of being born out of wedlock.  This is unfair.  It is unfair to the kids this happens to.  However, by trying to even out the field so all kids are equal, it has removed how bad it is seen to have children out of wedlock.  It is even seen as preferable by some these days! 

9.  Reinforce Morality.  I believe Homosexual Marriage is a thing because we, as a society, were already immoral.  When 95% of the population has pre-marital relations...that is NOT a moral society.  That's not even a Christian society.  They are in no way following the commandments or instructions of the Lord.  It doesn't matter if they say they have been saved, their actions say they don't even care about the Lord and his path.  Adultery and Fornication are just as bad as Homosexual acts.  This is the breach American society does not want to actually admit.  We were already extremely immoral as a people already, even before these things happened.

I recently read a type of interview paper where an individual went and talked to married couples.  Anonymity was something that was given so the people could say what they wished.  There was an overwhelming theme there that they didn't like that their spouse had premarital relationships with others.  A few said that they didn't care, but overwhelmingly, most said it bothered them.  They dealt with it in various ways.  Some just tried to ignore that these things ever happened.  Others tried to pretend that they were each other's first relationship of that sort and only think back to when they were married.  It seemed many tried to forget, ignore, or otherwise try to pretend that such things did not happen before they were married.  It was extremely sad.  This was from a rather liberal crowd (and non-LDS), and they still appeared to have these feelings. 

Young people seem to think that there will be no repercussions from immorality these days, but from what I read on this, there are serious ramifications of their actions, but no one really wants to talk about it.  No one wants to face up to it or deal with it.  They realize society (as opposed to the individual) does not favor such talk these days.  I think one of the first things to bring a two parent "privilege" back for more people is to bring back morality and chastity to the home, to our young people, and to American society.  In the same way that could help reinforce Christianity and the Christian way of life back to America as well. 

[prisonchaplain]

First, single people pay through the nose on taxes--more than married people. That's not the problem. Married people pay more than two people living together. Because single parents endure more hardships couples often find it advantageous, for tax reasons, not to marry. It's not uncommon to hear that a couple is choosing to live in sin because they cannot afford the added taxes they would incur if they married. 

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marriage-penalty.asp

BTW, most people of faith agree with @JohnsonJones. Most also know that wanting a return to the morality of yesteryear is desirable but unlikely given today's cultural climate.

Edited October 3, 2023 by prisonchaplain

[NeuroTypical]

14 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marriage-penalty.asp

That makes sense - thanks!

Fun fact: You can get married via paying taxes.  This happens when two cohabiting unmarried people do their taxes.  They can file two separate returns, or, if they meet the qualifications for a Common Law marriage, they can chose to file one return together as Married Filing Jointly.  You can continue filing single if you want, but once you go MFJ, you cannot go back unless you get an official divorce. 

I actually married two people when I worked as a tax person.  Two unmarried folks in a long-term relationship came in with all their forms and receipts and stuff.  The place I worked used software that would calculate both Single and MFJ numbers, which I showed them.  If they filed jointly, they'd end up paying around $200 less than if they filed two returns. (This was half due to the lower taxes for MFJ, and half due to the fact they'd only have to pay me for one return instead of two.)   They wanted the cheaper option.  I let them know this would make them officially married in the eyes of the state, she looked at him, he looked at the $200, and they agreed to file MFJ.  I said "congratulations, you're now officially married in the eyes of the state", and they went up front to pay. 

It happens all the time.

[zil2]

16 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Two unmarried folks in a long-term relationship came in with all their forms and receipts and stuff.  The place I worked used software that would calculate both Single and MFJ numbers, which I showed them.  If they filed jointly, they'd end up paying around $200 less than if they filed two returns. (This was half due to the lower taxes for MFJ, and half due to the fact they'd only have to pay me for one return instead of two.)   They wanted the cheaper option.  I let them know this would make them officially married in the eyes of the state, she looked at him, he looked at the $200, and they agreed to file MFJ.  I said "congratulations, you're now officially married in the eyes of the state", and they went up front to pay. 

<sniff> So romantic!  

[LDSGator]

22 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

Ways to encourage two-parent families:

1. End the marriage penalty (quite making couples who marry pay more taxes than those who are shacking up)

2. End the death tax (why shouldn't parents be allowed to pass down to their children the fruits of their labors without government confiscating the lion's share of it?)

3. Expand the Earned Income Credit (this is actually a moderate-to-liberal idea, but one I like)

4. Raise the income rates at which child credits become less then phase out

5. Encourage school choice--especially through tuition tax credits

6. Generally promote a culture of life rather than a culture of death. Population control schemes tend to end badly. Besides, wealthier countries are already running the risk of depopulation.  

You may may not like this bro but I agree with all of this. 

[LDSGator]

18 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Get rid of no-fault divorce. 

Agree 10,000%. 

 

18 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Return the stigmatization of being born out of wedlock. 

Nope. Not their fault. Also misleading. My bio mom was a “single mom” but I was adopted at six months by a happy two parent household. So where do I fall?

[mirkwood]

2 hours ago, LDSGator said:

So where do I fall?

 

There is not enough time or bandwidth to answer that question.

[JohnsonJones]

3 hours ago, LDSGator said:

Agree 10,000%. 

 

Nope. Not their fault. Also misleading. My bio mom was a “single mom” but I was adopted at six months by a happy two parent household. So where do I fall?

Once adopted, you fall under the adopted heading, which is basically a kid with married parents. 

[LDSGator]

13 minutes ago, JohnsonJones said:

Once adopted, you fall under the adopted heading, which is basically a kid with married parents. 

Ahh. Thanks.