Bryan Caplan on Being Single

If being single is so expensive, why are the poor far less likely to get married and stay married? I'm sure you could come up with a stilted neoclassical explanation. But this is yet another case where behavioral economics and personality psychology have a better story. Namely: Some people are extremely impulsive and short-sighted. If you're one of them, you tend to mess up your life in every way. You don't invest in your career, and you don't invest in your relationships. You take advantage of your boss and co-workers, and you take advantage of your romantic partners. You refuse to swallow your pride - to admit that the best job and the best spouse you can get, though far from ideal, are much better than nothing. Your behavior feels good at the time. But in the long-run people see you for what you are, and you end up poor and alone.

Being Single is a Luxury

Bryan Caplan has an interesting article here. Basically, he makes the case that being married is cheaper than being single. The most glaring issue he ignores is the drag and financial strain that comes with having children. My personal view is that Caplan is doing some ex post facto justification for his own lifestyle choices which involve marriage and children.

A couple that is double income and no kids or DINKs are definitely better off than a single person. This is because they split the cost of things like housing and certain utilities. On the other hand, a husband who works with a wife who doesn't work forms a SINK which is actually worse than being single and alone. This is because the earner must pay for the non-earner. Likewise, a couple with one earner and 2.5 kids is going to be even worse. But there are also tax advantages and the earned income tax credit to consider as well.

The bottom line is that a single person who elects to share housing with a roommate is going to do as well as the DINKs. I know because I used to do this. It works fine until your roomie stiffs you on his or her share of the bills. I suspect Caplan is taking pains to make marriage look like a great deal relative to being single. Now, if his wife were to have a torrid affair with the UPS man while he was away teaching econ, he might see things a bit differently. The fact that most married people--men and women--cheat on their spouses suggests to me that being married is not nearly as lovely as Caplan makes pains to indicate.

I am a single man who lives alone. It is more expensive than sharing my housing with either a roommate or a significant other. It is a luxury, and it is worth it. I would live in a smaller place or work a second job to maintain my living situation. I find living alone to be very sweet. As for the last part that there is something wrong with single people, I don't think I am impulsive or short-sighted or take advantage of my boss and co-workers. Like I said, I think Caplan is trying to justify being married. People who go to such lengths suggests to me a great deal of second thoughts.

Marriage sucks. I don't know how else to put it.

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