Are married couples on the endangered species list? Not quite, but Americans certainly aren't tying the knot like they used to. In a new report based on last year's census data, Pew Research Center found that the number of married couples has dropped six percent since 2000. Barely a majority (51 percent) of all U.S. adults are now married. Although the numbers are just a "snapshot," experts say, the economic crisis is largely to blame. In 2010, about a million new couples moved in together--a shift that analysts called "surprisingly large." For some, it was cheaper to cohabit than marry. Other researchers say the job market is the culprit. College graduates are having a tougher time finding work, and more are postponing marriage as a result. Right now, the median age for first marriages is higher than it's ever been--26 for women and almost 29 for men.

And instead of making it easier for people to marry, Washington is saddling couples with extra financial burdens. As FRC's Pat Fagan points out, that doesn't help the economy--it hurts it. Marriage is the biggest producer of human capital in the world, and when the government encourages non-married and fewer child-centered families, it undermines the economy. "[M]arried families are the essential contributors to the wealth generation. Their income and savings immediately translate into revenue for government and capital for the economy..." We can't wait for the economy to get better to focus on the family, we need to focus on the family to get the economy healthy. Read more at FRC's Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI).

Source: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/o-holy-fight