I'm not exactly debating this, but I thought this thread would be a good place to post it.

For economics class the other day, I happened to read about the theories of some American economist whose name I forgot, I'll hopefully post it later when I've looked it up. Anyway, he said that marriage was a market, and that people's wealth influences whom they marry.

That is simply not true, and I don't see how anyone in this day and age could think that it is. My own family is full of people, both on the Mexican and American sides, who left fairly nice economic situations to marry poor people, because they loved them. So there's proof that this economist was wrong.

It's well-known that it's much easier for families to get along when they're in a financially stable position, although of course such a position is not necessary for a happy family. And anyway, family members interact because they love each other, not because they want money.