4 ms·

This is a pretty interesting take on divorce. I'd be hesitant to view marriage as a financial partnership though. To me, marriage is more of a life partnership

by davemp 6y ago

This is a pretty interesting take on divorce. I'd be hesitant to view marriage as a financial partnership though. To me, marriage is more of a life partnership where both parties are "all in". A lot of the benefits of having a "life partner" stem from having someone who unconditionally watches your back and keeps your needs in mind. You can't put a price on that type of a partnership by definition (you introduce a monetary condition). I agree that someone with real wealth could hire folks to manage their assets, administrate, listen to their thoughts/concerns, provide intimacy, etc, at the cost of a fraction of their net worth well below 50%. Maybe people worried about protecting their wealth should just hire out those roles instead of getting married. I wonder why they don't. :)

vmception 6y ago
> Maybe people worried about protecting their wealth should just hire out those roles instead of getting married. I wonder why they don't. :) A lot of people do. What point were you trying to make by assuming its not happening a lot?
vmception 6y ago
> I'd be hesitant to view marriage as a financial partnership though. Acknowledging the problems with the contract requires looking at the realities of the contract. The reality of that contract is that it has financial components and financial consequences, which are assumed to scale linearly, when that’s not true. Someone “having your back” could just as arbitrarily be worth 10% of assets or a retainer or a monthly rate. The point being that starting at 50% and working down is just as arbitrary. I would say it would not actually scale infinitely, just as much as a key salaried employee does not have compensation that scales proportionately to the earnings of that corporation. I absolutely do not care about how these comparisons make you feel as that is completely a product of conditioning. This is still a flawed contract, lets acknowledge that it is a flawed contract whether your line in the sand is “cant put a price on” or something else.
- ddelt 6y ago
  Agreed - You stated more elegantly what I came here to reply with. I personally love the “idea” or concept of a marriage (the understanding and commitment of two humans to each other for pure love, devotion, or spiritual/religious reasons), but in practice, at least from what I’ve seen in the US, it’s very much about the legal aspects of the “marriage contract”, the financial and legal impacts, as well as to continue to promote the US agenda of the nuclear family unit.
- davemp 6y ago
  > I absolutely do not care about how these comparisons make you feel as that is completely a product of conditioning. This is still a flawed contract, lets acknowledge that it is a flawed contract whether your line in the sand is “cant put a price on” or something else. This goes in reverse as well. The only significant reason to get married is social conditioning/pressure. Like I implied above, you can just hire those roles out and not enter the contract. Marriage is absolutely about feelings or else no one would agree to it. Marriage is not an employment contract, the comparison is fallacious. The conditions for breaking the contract are much more severe because you're not "supposed to" switch partners like you switch jobs. If you don't believe in marriage more power to you, don't enter into one.
  - vmception 6y ago
    > Marriage is absolutely about feelings or else no one would agree to it. Marriage is not an employment contract, the comparison is fallacious. The venn diagram overlaps. If you don't want it to overlap, fix the contract instead of invalidating everyone that dares to acknowledge it.
  - triceratops 6y ago
    It's worth pointing out that not having a marriage license or registering your marriage with the government, doesn't mean you aren't in a marriage.[1] Divorce laws still apply in this case. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage
- anotherman554 6y ago

by davemp 6y ago

vmception 6y ago

> Maybe people worried about protecting their wealth should just hire out those roles instead of getting married. I wonder why they don't. :) A lot of people do. What point were you trying to make by assuming its not happening a lot?

vmception 6y ago

> I'd be hesitant to view marriage as a financial partnership though. Acknowledging the problems with the contract requires looking at the realities of the contract. The reality of that contract is that it has financial components and financial consequences, which are assumed to scale linearly, when that’s not true. Someone “having your back” could just as arbitrarily be worth 10% of assets or a retainer or a monthly rate. The point being that starting at 50% and working down is just as arbitrary. I would say it would not actually scale infinitely, just as much as a key salaried employee does not have compensation that scales proportionately to the earnings of that corporation. I absolutely do not care about how these comparisons make you feel as that is completely a product of conditioning. This is still a flawed contract, lets acknowledge that it is a flawed contract whether your line in the sand is “cant put a price on” or something else.

ddelt 6y ago
Agreed - You stated more elegantly what I came here to reply with. I personally love the “idea” or concept of a marriage (the understanding and commitment of two humans to each other for pure love, devotion, or spiritual/religious reasons), but in practice, at least from what I’ve seen in the US, it’s very much about the legal aspects of the “marriage contract”, the financial and legal impacts, as well as to continue to promote the US agenda of the nuclear family unit.
davemp 6y ago
> I absolutely do not care about how these comparisons make you feel as that is completely a product of conditioning. This is still a flawed contract, lets acknowledge that it is a flawed contract whether your line in the sand is “cant put a price on” or something else. This goes in reverse as well. The only significant reason to get married is social conditioning/pressure. Like I implied above, you can just hire those roles out and not enter the contract. Marriage is absolutely about feelings or else no one would agree to it. Marriage is not an employment contract, the comparison is fallacious. The conditions for breaking the contract are much more severe because you're not "supposed to" switch partners like you switch jobs. If you don't believe in marriage more power to you, don't enter into one.
- vmception 6y ago
  > Marriage is absolutely about feelings or else no one would agree to it. Marriage is not an employment contract, the comparison is fallacious. The venn diagram overlaps. If you don't want it to overlap, fix the contract instead of invalidating everyone that dares to acknowledge it.
- triceratops 6y ago
  It's worth pointing out that not having a marriage license or registering your marriage with the government, doesn't mean you aren't in a marriage.[1] Divorce laws still apply in this case. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-law_marriage
anotherman554 6y ago