legolas

If you haven't heard of it, the title pretty much says it all. If you think about it, single mom's, divorces, and other things cost society and America a lot (welfare the most obvious of causes). From what I understand, the program would encourage marriage and educate people on when and to whom get married. Obivously, there is much debate on whether this would be using 1.5 billion dollars of tax payer money to use or waste.
Comments.

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ChrisJericho

This wouldn't surprise me. I would like specifics though.

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Spartak

Hardly surprising that Bush would suggest something like that.

1.5 billion, sheesh, how about using that to alleviate the giant budget deficit ?

Although I'm not complaining, the ailing US dollar is at almost .75 New Zealand pesos.

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anleja

I'm sure schools could get together to build a curriculum on promoting healthy marriages without it costing 1.5 beelian dollars.

Maybe they could spend another 1.5 billion dollars to teach kids to not be bullies, that way everyone has good self-esteem, which makes good things happen.



Okay, the bully comment was dumb and pointless, but it makes me chuckle, so it stays.

Randerolf

Billions spent on re-education. We all see how great D.A.R.E. worked. Hey kids, marry someone who pays taxes!

http://bureaucrash.com/arsenal/propaganda/marriage.pdf

arch13

Here's a link

Seems like a breaking of the goverment/religion barrier to me.
Blatantly christian to say the least.
I agree that the divorce rate in america is atrocious, but this little bill is forcing a christian marriage viewpoint aimed at cutting off talk of legalizing gay marriage by defining marriage as between a man and woman only.
That's the real offensive part to me. I support the cause of allowing gays the same marriage rights as straights.

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feelgood

So um...how exactly do you use 1.5 billion dollars to promote marriage? Pay single people to use AdultFriendFinder?

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Mr.Deflok

0.68, and pesos? We've got dollars and cents here buddy, don't be angry that we made one of the greatest Film Trilogies of all time!

Destrox

I can see it now, bush dragging along his religious crap he always tries to spew out.

Just spend my damn tax money on somthing that is a national benifit, not to a select few set of people.

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eribrav

I'm glad someone made this a thread......I saw it in the paper the other day but didn't get a chance to post.

This is just the most recent example of the relentless expansion of government that has occurred under this president. What ever became of conservatives like Reagan, who really believed the federal government should play a limited role in people's lives? Why would GWB piss away $1.5 billlion of our dollars on stupid shit like this? Honestly this stuff really pisses me off; it's why I generally stay out of the politics forum. We need a President who can read the Constitution and understand what it says.

denim

Nah, "Who wants to marry a millionaire" by funding the millionaires.

I agree that he's being a twit. However, $1.5B against the budget deficit would only be a start.

And I agree with arch13 on all the points he brings up.

aintyoboyfriend

Though I don't agree with this premise, the quoted part makes total sense.

How much do you think the divorce rate would decrease, if people went in to marriage a little more educated about what to expect.

I definitely need a lesson on how to find the right Wife.

Harshaw

Maybe we just need to realize that marrage isn't for everyone.

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timalkin

What is the alternative? Running around half-naked and fucking each other like animals? That's what we're doing now.

The basic unit of a society is the family. The family situation in this country consists of stepparents, stepsiblings, child custody fights, baby's daddy, welfare payments, and general chaos.

The most basic unit of our society is becoming very unstable. Do you honestly think that most kids can grow up knowing right from wrong when they have never had a decent role model in their entire lives?

As someone already said, divorces, etc. cost this country way too much money and time. While a focused campaign on promoting stable marriages will never completely eliminate the animals among us, it would surely help the average person.

The_Dude

this is just another atempt by gwb to "moralize" the country cuz i bet "god told him to".

why dont they just donate that money to the catholic church? it should help them pay off the lawsuits and promote morality.

if they were doing anythin, they should be handing out free birthcontrol or condoms or something at public places, NOT try to impose morality on those who dont want it imposed upon.

fuckin A, the country is runnin a deficit for GOD's sakes! in the deficit, we're tryin to set the morals straight? BS.

it's not becomming unstable, it's evolving to the 21st century. we're seeing gay households, we're seeing single parents etc...

we're not seeing a joint household of grandparents, their kids and their kids. the "tradidtional" family where women stayed at home and worked and men went out and earned the $$ is gone.

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lordjeebus

This assumes, of course, that most divorces are due to fixable problems and not fundamental incompatabilities between partners.

Is this true? I don't know. But I do think that throwing money to force together people who really don't belong together and would be happier if they were out looking for someone else is wasteful and futile.

I don't think that married parents who don't love each other serve as any sort of "better role model" than divorced parents. In fact, if those divorced parents find what makes them happy, I'd say that they are the superior role models.

Spartak

Haha ofcourse, just poking fun

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Holo

I agree that a child needs role models of both sexes, I think boys more than girls due to the inherent lack of intimacy between boys. However, single parents can have role models of the "missing" sex thru other means...friendships, uncles, and of course long term relationships...all without stepping to the altar. If Bush wants to promote marriage he should work for father's rights. I read an article a while back on how many men don't want to get married anymore due to how they get shafted on paternal rights, alimony, etc. It's not in many men's best interest to get married anymore. Plus in this acquisitive world we live in, ppl have their own vision of good living and their own goals and don't want to have to build a life with someone who doesn't have the same goals. There are so many reasons marriage is failing, and I think the least of them is partner's lack of interpersonal skills.

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Tophat665

So long as it applies to same sex couples, I can live with that, yet somehow I think this is another election year stunt on the order of the Moon Base and the Guest Worker program, except this one designed to firm his base, not spread it. That being the case, it is sure to be a collossal waste of that money Herr Bush assured me belonged to me as of that election he lost a couple years ago.

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Harshaw

Ummm? I'm not married, I spend most of my time fully clothed. Just because I feel no drive to get married does not make me an anarchist. Some people jump into marrages because they feel the pressure from families or God... or in this case the fucking government.

Quote:

The most basic unit of our society is becoming very unstable. Do you honestly think that most kids can grow up knowing right from wrong when they have never had a decent role model in their entire lives?

Why does the role model have to be a father or mother? Growing up I had more role models than I could count. Only one of them was my father.

Quote:

As someone already said, divorces, etc. cost this country way too much money and time. While a focused campaign on promoting stable marriages will never completely eliminate the animals among us, it would surely help the average person.

Getting married does not "banish" the animal from someone.

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powerclown

Agree with feelgood, how the hell is money going to solve this?

Typical republican attitude: see a problem, throw a gob of money at it and hope it sorts itself out. Bush is on one hell of a spending spree, lately, playing war, playing with his rockets, playing with his constituents. Good to be the King, eh Georgie??

legolas

Well the publicized point of this is economical reasons, but like most things that Bush tries to do, there seems to be a hidden agenda.
I think the schools would probably be involved. Isn't DARE a government program?

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timalkin

I've failed to see that Bush wants to FORCE people to get married. But knowing that crazy Bush, he'll probably personally hold a gun to everybody's head at the altar

I enjoyed the comment about Republicans throwing money at a problem and hoping that it sorts itself out. Welfare, anybody?

BlueBongo

I think the idea of Bush spending our money on this program is lame... I only say that because I feel that teenagers are being smarter about things like sex and marriage now more so than in the mid-90's. I know it's lame to go off of statistics that I don't remember where I read them from.. but nationally it seems people are post-poneing (sp?) marriage and sex. Not that I think pre-marital sex is wrong or anything like that, BUT I just think people are obviously maturing earlier than old generations and are making some decent decisions in regards to marriage and sex.

Of course there are still a lot of younger people that are uneducated about both topics.. but I don't think that there is anything Bush can do to stop them or help them really.

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juanvaldes

yet anohter pork barrel project.

onodrim

With the divorce rate as high as it is, there probably is a need for some help on the marriage front. But 1.5 billion dollars? I don't think so. How about giving that money towards public education? Seems like a waste of resources to me.

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legolas

Uh... I would love to see some statistics because to me it seems very much the opposite. With sex and marriage made a mockery on TV so much, I see younger people -trying- to grow up quicker than they are.
If anyone has those statistics I'd love to see them.

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tehblaed

Friend of my girlfriend's just got married at 18. I give them two years.

Oh, and guess what? They were both highly christian. Girlfriend and I both believe they were just too horny to wait any longer, and just said "fuck it, let's get married" and...well you can see where I'm taking you.

Anyway, this whole push for marriage thing is obviously a breach in the long stated but often un-upheld notion of a separation between church and state. Marriage, especially Bush's kind of marriage, is a Christian standard of living that is upheld through many sorts of anti-divorce, pro-false happiness ideals running in the churches around here.

It's kind of sickening.

omega2K4

That $1,500,000,000 could go to a much better use than wasting it on "promoting marriage".

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bonehed1

Everything is a waste of money so why should this be any different. It's not like the government really cares about heathcare, security, schools, and marriage.

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Nazggul

Bush scares me, as does the general upswell of religious right sentiment in this country.

Here's a little poll that was going around a few weeks ago. Interesting site, but scary how they feel the need to impose their percieved "correct" reality on others.

Sorry if this has been posted already.

http://www.afa.net/petitions/marriagepoll.asp

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Gortexfogg

I doubt that 1.5 billion would do any good. There are resources out there already to educate those willing to learn more about marriage and all that. I don't see how spending billions to create an excess of programs that most people will not go to will help...