Are Singles Treated Fairly by the Rest of
Society?
Over the next few months, this site will present a series
of articles that aim to illuminate a few choice injustices done to single people. These
particular issues were chosen for their incidious breadth and depth of effect, as well as
all of them having a passive societal approval.They are often legal practices, and they
may often be accepted ideas (by those not single primarily), yet they are wrong. Each
month's article will deliver an in-depth look at the organizations, policies, and
activities engaged to discriminate against single people.
Part I: TRAVEL - Airlines limit
the use of frequent flier miles to spouses only. The International Airline Passengers
Association calls this a "non-issue", due to the constantly changing whims of
singles' when it comes to whom they are dating. Hotels and cruise ships charge double room
rates even if a single person is occupying the room. Although some tour operators will try
to match you with a compatible same-sex roommate,.. the fact is, a single person is still
inconvenienced simply because they do not have a partner.
Part II: INSURANCE - Why are single
people charged higher premiums for auto insurance, especially when it comes to men?
Gender-based rating has been dropped in many states, and as gender-based rating is
dropped, so must be single-based rating. Why are so many states still holding on to the
stereotype that singles have a capacity to be far more reckless than non-singles? Does
marriage really make one a better driver?
Part III: HOUSING/RENT LAWS - Although
federal law prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of marital status, there are
still many non-married couples and single people who are refused housing every year! This
is based on an assumption that single people are loud, irresponsible and unstable.
Challenging this idea is the fact that, with over 100 million adults in its membership,
the single population consists of far more than just unruly twenty-somethings.
Part IV: TAXES - Who is paying through the nose when it comes to taxes?
Do single people pay a steep price for not being married? Or are those who do take the
walk down the aisle really the one's who end up paying for more than their share? With tax
breaks such as a fifteen-hundred dollar per-child credit, it seems to me that married
couples get all the breaks.
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