Look, everything can be seen as an evil "strategy". Getting married places rich single folks in much better tax situations, whether you acknowledge it or not. The tax code SHOULD in some ways incentivize positive certain behaviors (or at the very least not disincentivize....).This includes charitable giving, getting married, having two incomes in a household, home ownership.... If a secondary income in a household were tax-free up to some level, that would simply be a more straightforward way to avoid the big hit on secondary incomes. It would still be an obvious convolution of the tax code, but it would (hopefully) lead to higher labor participation. I guess we can selectively slam portions of the tax code while not slamming others. Seems pointlessly ideological, why curse the dark when you can turn on a light switch? If your wife ends up working, find a place with a good 401K program. No need to thank me.... ;).