apushatayid:
“The cycle has to be broken somewhere, why not with monetary carrot dangled in front of shadchanim”
Einstein once said “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Using more money as an incentive isn’t breaking the cycle, just adds a larger monetary reward to a cycle which is broken. How about changing the actual process.
Since everyone is claiming that older girls are harder to get married, how about after a certain age the girls and guys bypass the shadchanim and try to meet on their own accord (through friends and family or just meeting a nice guy on the street) and going out that way.
Personally, I prefer to meet a girl on my own instead of through a shadchan, less “broken telephone” that way. Plus, there are no intrusions by shadchanim, who want to do the right thing, but come over as pushy and inconsiderate.