Getting More Folks to Say "I Do"

OK, while I am an advocate of marriage, and believe that there are serious problems, especially in low income communities, that could be alleviated by more stable families (which marriage promotes), I am dubious of this: Bush Plans $1.5 Billion Drive for Promotion of Marriage

Administration officials say they are planning an extensive election-year initiative to promote marriage, especially among low-income couples, and they are weighing whether President Bush should promote the plan next week in his State of the Union address.

[...]

Federal officials said they favored premarital education programs that focus on high school students; young adults interested in marriage; engaged couples; and unmarried couples at the moment of a child's birth, when the parents are thought to have the greatest commitment to each other.

Alan M. Hershey, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research in Princeton, N.J., said his company had a $19.8 million federal contract to measure the effectiveness of such programs for unwed parents. Already, Mr. Hershey said, he is providing technical assistance to marriage-education projects in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas.

A major purpose, he said, is to help people "communicate about money, sex, child-raising and other difficult issues that come up in their relationships."

And while I can see where pre-marital education could be helpful, I just don't see this program (which is poorly described in the article, but I am not sure if it is because information is scarce, which is likely the case, or because the article wasn't well constructed) accomplishing much--certainly not $1.5 billion-worth of much.