Marriage bonuses run a hundred times larger for single-earner than dual-earner couples

Evidence

Now, contrast the Galloways with a couple consisting of one wage earner and one stay-at-home spouse—a pattern that, as we’ve seen, is significantly more common for white couples. If the wage earner makes the same as Kristen and Greg’s combined income—109,392.26—he and his wife will file a joint return, take the standard deduction, and also pay 10,412 in taxes. Horizontal equity requires this outcome. … However, if this (presumably) white couple were unmarried and living together, but still supported by one income, the single wage earner would pay taxes of 17,497. So a marriage between one high-earning spouse and one low-earning or nonearning spouse offers significant savings; in this case, around 7,000—one hundred times the amount Kristen and Greg get. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 132

Categorization

• XREF: The 100x bonus gap is prime supporting material for the reader’s four-provision explanation of the racial wealth gap.
• SHARE: The concrete 100x ratio (70 vs 7,000) is a sharp stat to send to a tax-policy-minded friend.