Healthy marriages boost the economy and benefit our communities. Every marriage creates a new household - an economic unit that generates income, spends, saves and invests. The household typically includes children, at some point, who contribute human capital to the economy.  Marriage influences economic behavior as well.

This is especially true for men, who in many cases become more economically responsible when they have a family to support. (1) When a marriage ends, the same processes that worked to build family wealth now work in reverse to drain the savings account. Two households need more money than one to maintain the same standard of living. Even if the income is split evenly between former spouses, the standard of living drops by about 25%. (2) That means there's less to spend on nonessential purchases.

Unhealthy couples increase the need for government agencies, policy makers, and recipients. The financial costs due to divorce are extreme for many, causing the need for increased assistance. (3) More civil servants are required, more policies are necessary, and the tax burden increases as the tax base decreases with a greater number of families needing assistance. (4) In addition, the workload for judges has risen substantially due to divorce proceedings, custody issues, and domestic crimes. In 1998, litigants filed five million domestic relations cases involving divorce, child custody, child support, domestic violence, adoption, and paternity in state courts. (5)

When we experience unstable relationships, employers, co-workers, and customers all share the cost. Approximately 30% of sick time that employees use is the resut of some type of family conflict. Workers experiencing a marital breakup tend to be mentally distracted, and have diminishing personal performance, output, and service for an extended period of time. These limitations undercut a company's bottom line, increase other employees' workloads and increase personnel issues. (6 )

There's no way around it - healthy marriages are good business.