The Single-People Tax Is Not Working

Bloomberg Businessweek reports:

U.S. birth rates fell to an all-time low last year, and if it stays that way, the native-born population will shrink. There's every reason to think that this is where we're headed. Marriage rates also are on the decline. (While not a prerequisite for child-bearing, marriage does tend to encourage it.) In economic terms, this is bad: When the fertility rate falls below the replacement rate, as it has in some European countries and did last year in the U.S., it becomes a threat to economic growth and undermines the ability to pay for social services and pensions.

With a vested interest in encouraging marriage and family-making, the state has been trying for centuries to foster them. When ancient Rome was in a similar position, it levied a tax on unmarried men, hoping to cajole them into marrying and starting families. In the early 20th century, towns in Germany, Italy, and the state of Montana also levied bachelor taxes. Not surprisingly, they were extremely unpopular, and many people considered them discriminatory.

A taxing situation.