Tony Blair

Tony Blair is regretting his announcement not to seek reelection. This is not because he wants a fourth term, but because of the instability it has caused his country. I have not really followed British politics and I found this article interesting. Later, he was asked about the Tories rise in popularity with women:

Labour's views on the family were 'right and better' than the Tories', [Blair] said. 'Tax breaks in marriage are not a sensible use of resources. Marriage is a good thing, but you're trying to support children.
'It's hard to see why you would want to support a married couple without children rather than a lone parent whose husband may have left her through no fault of her own and who is trying to bring up two children. Of course we should try and support marriage in whatever way we can, but to reduce support for lone parents isn't justified.'

I think it is kind of interesting how Mr. Blair and I arrive at the same conclusion from totally different perspectives. He is of the liberal Labor Party and I am an American conservative. His argument, above, is that giving tax breaks based on marriage does not necessarily assist with raising children. I on the other hand want to see the lowest taxes for everyone. Incidentally, I don’t even think marriage should be recognized by the government. Civil unions for hetero and homosexuals would take care of legal defaults like medical decisions and property rights. Marriage should be a religious ceremony. As such, the government should not care about your religious status. Let them concern themselves with your legal status.