Conclusions, Predictions, and Prognostications 223
Author Nancy M. Newman reminds us that some experts have
predicted that in the future, the vast majority of poor people will
be women and children. There is a sizable list of reasons for this,
which include lack of child-support payments, teenage pregnancy,
the divorce rate, and the impact of a growing acceptance of single
motherhood.
Some Final Miscellaneous Factoids
re: Marriage and Divorce
Marry someone you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills
will be as important as any other.
—Anonymous
As anyone who has read this far in this book has already figured
out by now, I love statistics. These tiny little snippets can provide
some amazing, thought-provoking and occasionally amusing
insights. Even when the various statistics are inconsistent, hard
to verify, or seem to flat out contradict each other, they are still
fascinating and illuminating. So here, taken from various “sur-
veys” are some more items to ponder as we try to divine out the
true nature (and future) of marriage and divorce in America.
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the divorce rate rose
most sharply in the early 1970s. Then it stabilized for a spell... but at pretty high rates.
• The U.S. divorce rate has been dropping ever since 1990. But,
21.8 million Americans still wound up getting divorced in
2004.
• There has been more than a 30 percent drop in the marriage
rate since 1970.
• Thirty-six percent of women surveyed said they would not
marry their same husbands again.
• Forty percent of all couples are estimated to be simply co-
existing in unhappy marriages.
• Fifty-one percent of all American women were living single
as of 2006.
• Middle-age couples (i.e., fifty somethings/Boomers) make
love an average of once a week.