"But, assuming for one moment that the assumptions of the joke are correct, why is Debbie being with Paul for his money any worse, more absurd or morally empty than Paul being with Debbie for her looks?"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=505780&in_page_id=1879&ito=1490

No, I am by no means rich.  Its simply she is with me for my money, and I'm with her because she is beautiful!!!

That was a very interesting aticle indeed.

b-

Unfortunately when most of us pick a mate, we haven't faced our own issues enough to know which end is up, which is why such a high percentage of marriages end up in divorce.

So in some ways, when someone marries for money or looks, they may actually have their head on straighter than the rest of us!

We all pick a mate for a reason and rarely is it mutual meeting of needs by two soul mates.  It may develop in to that if both are willing to face their issues and use the marriage as the tool to face the issues.  But I believe the majority choose based on some need- need for security, need to choose the path of least resistance and settle for bird in hand, need to have the more dominant spouse be our shield, need to bask in the spouses strength- whatever it is.

Then after a few years when it quits working- it's sh** what did I do?  I wish I could say I've met the issues and solved them- not true which is why I'm in the hobby!

But then we get here, and voila- if we choose, we can find a bunch of our issues here to if we choose to face them- a wonderful place to explore our jealousy, envy, clinginess, and perhaps even to explore being open and honest!