Billboards around Mbabane have promoted "First World by 2022". Naturally we think of "first world" in terms of material well-being. With an eye on the future, are there connections between marriage and material prosperity? According to familyfacts.org, there are indeed. Some highlights from first-world research referenced at that site:
*Married couples made $12,500 more than couples who were living together unmarried.
*Married couples had a greater likelihood of getting rich (earning 10 times more than the poverty level) than unmarried people.
*Low-income married couples accumulate more money than unmarried low-income people.
*Marriage helps women economically. Women in this survey who were married were two-thirds less likely to be poor than unmarried women. Furthermore, the chances of being poor was the same for married women from disadvantaged families than it was for married women from non-disadvantaged ones. The authors of this study wrote, "The deleterious effect associated with a disadvantaged background is completely offset by marrying and staying married."
As Swaziland looks to attain first-world status, let her consider what the first-world has learned about marriage: strong and lasting marriages make for greater prosperity. It IS possible to have both love and money. May Swaziland work to build strong marriages and families on her way to first-world status.
Rudy Poglitsh
rPoglitsh@live.com
