Running head: IS MARRIAGE THE ANSWER TO POVERTY

Is Marriage the Answer to Poverty?

Hannah Coumes
James Madison University

Abstract
Poverty has been a huge problem in the United States for decades and
individuals have been searching for a solution. Many people have
discussed the possibility that marriage is an option to rise above the
poverty line and even some political figures such as George W. Bush
have tried to push marriage as the answer. This is simply because two
incomes are better than one and women still do not have as high of an
income as men. The paper discusses the alternatives for poverty and
whether or not marriage is, in fact, the answer. It examines the cause
of poverty and the best way to rise above it as a nation. This essay
finds the advantages and disadvantages of marriage as a solution to
financial troubles and hopes to open the debate as to whether anyone
should be pushing this idea on to the American people.

Is Marriage the Answer to Poverty?

If an individual were below the poverty line, would marriage be
the best solution to rise above it? This essay will discuss and determine
whether or not marriage will help increase an individuals financial
situation and move above the poverty line. Poverty is when a person
does not have enough money to support him or herself at an adequate
level and it can lead to homelessness and starvation. This is an
important issue because many people are on the edge of the poverty
line today and even political figures have tried to promote marriage as
a healthy alternative to escape poverty but it is still widely debated.
In her article, Poverty in the United States from The Concise
Encyclopedia of Economics, Isabel V. Sawhill (2002) goes in depth on
the topic of poverty and explains the statistics, reasons for poverty,
and how it could be improved. She argues that poverty is worse in
households that are controlled by women because they simply do not
make as much. Sawhill found that what will help poverty the most are
well-funded education programs, the natural growth of the economy,
and more cash transfers. Even though being unmarried might be a
factor that is leading to poverty, she concludes that marriage will not
be the best way to improve it.

IS MARRIAGE THE ANSWER TO POVERTY

Familyfacts.org published an article titled Marriage and Poverty

(2016) that explored the family dynamics that are more likely to cause
a family to fall below the poverty line. It mostly discusses the main
causes of poverty; single mothers, early sexual activity, and divorce,
according to the article. Furthermore, a low level of education was
found to be a big factor in poverty-stricken families. The article
analyzes the rates of poverty in different classes and includes the rates
at which people are falling below the poverty line after they have
children. The article concluded that marriage would solve the problems
of poverty because there would be a higher income within the family.
Lastly, To Wed or to Work? by Katrina Running and Louise Marie
Roth discusses and analyzes poverty and how to avoid it. They
examined employment benefits versus marriage benefits and
attempted to find the best solution poverty in the United States. With
extensive studies and research, Running and Roth found that marriage
and being the earner of the household have the same effect so being
married would not make more of a difference than working would. They
also believed that there are other ways to help an individual find a
well-paying job so its an easier alternative to marriage.
In Poverty in the United States, Sawhill explained that unwed
mothers are the most likely to be below the poverty line and if they
were married, they would be in a much better state, financially.
Researchers believe this is the reason for the feminization of poverty

5
(Sawhill, 2002, para. 8). The feminization of poverty is the study that
shows in recent years, more families are below the poverty line
because single women are the head of the household and they make
less money than men. This is similar to the viewpoints in Marriage
and Poverty (2016) because both articles state that statistically, a
woman would be significantly wealthier if they were married. The
article explains, The poverty rate of children whose divorces mothers
remarried was 9.4 percent (2016). The percentage is drastically
different from the contrary where the article states, The poverty rate
of children whose divorced mothers remained single was 42.4 percent
(2016).
These two articles are similar to the last article, To Wed or to
Work? because all three believe that the younger a mother is, the
worse off she will be because she will not have the means to provide
for herself or her child. This was the common theme between the
articles because a young woman is less likely to find a job with a
steady salary to provide for herself of her children if she has any.
The articles contrast each other in To Wed or to Work? (Running
& Roth, 2013) and Marriage and Poverty (2016) because Running and
Roth conclude that marriage could help poverty but also being the
earner of the household could improve it and they have the same
effect on poverty. They explain Overall, being an earner and being
married have approximately the same impact on womens overall

IS MARRIAGE THE ANSWER TO POVERTY

household economic well-being, with both significantly increasing

household income (2013, p. 187). This is different from Marriage and
Poverty which is shown when the author explains, There was a 66
percent reduction in poverty among children whose divorced single
mothers remarried (2016).
Poverty in the United States (Sawhill, 2002) also disagrees with
Marriage and Poverty (2016) when it discusses the idea that helping
unwed mothers with financial assistance is of greater importance than
marriage. This is because financial assistance will begin to help the
problem from where it started, not simply cover up the problem.
Sawhill wrote the poverty rate is reduced by nearly 9 percentage
points by these [financial assistance] programs (2016). This shows the
significance they hold and how much they can help families below the
poverty line, assisting families everywhere. In contrast, Marriage and
Poverty (2016) believes that marriage is the answer to solving poverty
because divorce is usually the biggest factor in it. With these opposing
views, it is no wonder people debate over whether or not marriage is
the answer to poverty.
Poverty in the United States is a reliable source because it cites
many sources, including academic journals. It has a clear, easy-tounderstand writing style so it was simple enough to follow along. It is a
strong, reputable source but it still has a few weaknesses. Although it
is the viewpoint of the author, there are no opposing viewpoints to give

7
insight on the other side of the argument. The article is also fourteen
years old, which means opinions and statistics could have changed by
now. Even with those few weaknesses, it was still a strong article.
The second source was Marriage and Poverty that was
published by Familyfacts.org. This is not necessarily as strong of a
source because it has a about as many weaknesses as it has strengths
but it was still helpful for the research. The points of the article are that
it is a recent source and it is clear writing. The facts are all laid out for
the reader so it can be read quickly and accurately. The article does
have many cited sources that are reliable. However, the weaknesses
are similar to the first source. For one, there are no opposing
viewpoints. In fact, the article seems a bit biased in its opinions.
Second, the author cannot be identified so there is no way to know if
they are credible and only the publisher is known.
The last source was To Wed or to Work? by Katrina Running and
Louise Marie Roth. This source was the strongest source and the most
reliable, by far. It is reputable and has facts and statistics to back it up.
It has opposing arguments so there is not a biased undertone in the
information. The authors cite many scholarly sources and even have
some of their own studies. The only weakness is that it is a bit harder
to understand than the others because the subject is more complex.
While doing research, I learned that unwed mothers are more
likely to be below the poverty line and many people think marriage is a

IS MARRIAGE THE ANSWER TO POVERTY

viable option. Before I read the articles, I thought marriage was

unrelated to poverty and afterwards, I realized that being unmarried
has a large effect on poverty and without the income of two people in a
household, it is easy to fall below the poverty line. I still believe that
marriage is not the answer to poverty but now; I understand that
divorce is a factor in causing it. In my opinion, the best way to combat
poverty is to help the men and women with financial assistance, not
promote marriage because that is not always a healthy alternative. In
the future when looking into this topic, I could pick more sources like
the third one that has plenty of data and statistics to use. That was
very helpful and it was more reputable. In conclusion, although
marriage and being the earner of a household may have the same
effect on poverty, employment is an easier alternative and financial
assistance can help as well. Because of this, marriage is not the best
solution to poverty, higher paying jobs are.

References
Marriage and Poverty. (2016). The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved March 7, 2016.

9
Running, K., & Roth, L. M. (2013). To wed or to work. Journal of Poverty, 177-195.
Retrieved March 7, 2016.
Sawhill, I. V. (2002). Poverty in the United States. The Concise Encyclopedia of
Economics. Retrieved March 7, 2016.