Earlier today, my colleague Derek Thompson argued that; it’s misleading to think of marriage【A1】______ a “luxury good”. Why? Because luxury goods are something the 【A2】______ buy and the poor can’t afford. But in the case of【A3】______ the trend is more complex. The vast majority of Americans tie the knot at some point in their lives, he argues. It’s just that those【A4】______ a college education are far, far more likely to get divorced. Marriage is for everyone; failed marriages are【A5】______ the poor.

Bleak stuff. But it’s getting bleaker.

Derek’s post is based 【A6】______ a long-term study of young Baby Boomers, who were at least 46【A7】______ old by 2010. But among younger Americans, marriage really is looking more and more【A8】______ something you’d have to buy at Tiffany’s. According to 2012 Census Bureau report, 【A9】______ shows the percentage of men who have never married by age and income, the less a guy earns nowadays, the【A10】______ likely they are to have ever gotten married.

Well, that’s not l00 percent true. Among twenty-somethings there seems to be a rich bachelor【A11】______ going on (or an overworked young professional effect, if you prefer). Those making $75,000 or more are somewhat less likely to have been married than 【A12】______ making between $40,000 and $75,000.

This particular set of Census data unfortunately tells us much less about 【A13】______ and marriage. The problem: Stay-at-home moms.

The key to remember, though, is that many educated, high-earning women, the sorts who are likely to meet and【A14】______ educated and high-earning men, leave the workforce or go part time once they have children. So a publicist who once made over $70,000 a year might 【A15】______ earn $20,000 if she decided 【A16】______ work fewer hours while【A17】______ for her children at home.

Here’s why this trend—not just the move towards divorce like Derek talked about, 【A18】______ the move from marriage entirely—is so gloomy. Getting married, and staying married, is 【A19】______ of the surest ways of securing a middle class life. By choosing 【A20】______ to wed in the first place, the poor are abandoning that chance at stability.