"Love And Marriage Go Together Like A Horse And Carriage"

Francis Sinatra sang that song with such conviction.  I always wondered though what the horse was - love pulling the marriage along or marriage being drug along behind love.  Speaking of drug, how about that love drug ecstasy?  Wait, can't go there right now.  Suffice to say a future rant may involve a discussion of this marvelous chemical that is showing great promise in relationship counseling as well as the rehabilitation of PTSD patients and other neurological disorders. 
But back to marriage.  Today's paper proclaimed that a minority of households in the USA are headed up by married people.  That's right, the latest census shows 48% of households with married folk, down from 52% in the last census.  Of course, this trend has been in place since us Boomers started turning on, dropping out and shacking up.  Still, most people I know are now or have been married.  Many are divorced and on a second or third go at it, with the resulting hodge-podge of step-this and half-that siblings, uncles, aunts, etc.   But ultimately, I would have to say that the happiest people I know are married, and here's why.
Statistically speaking, married people live longer, and who doesn't want to live longer?  It's also more financially prudent to be and stay married, and who doesn't want to be richer?  It's also statistically better to have children when the mother is younger.  Just look at the huge increase in cesarean sections, premature births and birth disorders from 40+ year old women having their first child.   And the costs to our broken healthcare system are enormous.  All of these things point to an inescapable fact - if you're going to get married, find Mr/Miss Right, get 'er done and don't wait too long for the kids, if that's in the offing.  Unfortunately, our modern day social/economic model is not too marriage friendly.  While us Boomers thumped our noses at marriage out of contempt for the institution our parents embraced, today's youth seem to see it as one of many lifestyle options available to them, and a scary one at that.  Gay and lesbian couples are somehow not "holy" enough, and the shitty economy and the awful example set by so many of their parents (yeah, us Boomers) scares the bejesus out of them, and rightly so.  
I say, allow couples of any stripe - man/woman, man/man, woman/woman to marry and enjoy the benefits mentioned above.  Society has no right to take away this choice of people to live longer and more financially secure.  And financial security, I believe, would allow women who want children to do it earlier in their lives.  Marriage isn't for everyone, but a declining percentage is ultimately not the right direction for a society like ours.  The numbers don't lie!
So, I've concluded the horse is neither love nor marriage, but just a horse pulling a carriage carrying a happily married couple down the road of life who will hopefully be able to avoid the horseshit that's bound to be there.