A poster at liberal blog DailyKos makes a very interesting point. After reading about a lesbian couple that moved from Arizona to California because if Arizona’s repressive GLBT laws, the poster wonders what will happen to the economies of those states that continue to lose gays to more progressive states.
Here’s yet another example of how intolerance is not just morally misplaced, but economically stupid. It’s been pointed out that gays and lesbians, on average, are more educated, earn more, and spend more. Notice the cities around the country that have initiated tourism programs specifically to attract G&L travelers. Why? Because they’re a good market; they travel and spend. While some in the business community might be uncomfortable with these schemes, because even mentioning this particular target market appears to sanction the lifestyle, they generally go along because of the associated financial benefits (much the same way some states passed MLK Day primarily to avoid convention boycotts). It’s also no secret that the cities that are the most tolerant, say San Francisco, have the healthiest economies.
Everyone knows (at least everyone we know knows) that the gays have always been on the forefront of just about everything, and clearly, those states where we choose to live have the most, er, robust economies. But what will happen if our country as a whole passes more anti-gay legislation that forces gays and lesbians to seek work in, say, Canada or Europe? An interesting argument that looks at homosexual-rights through an economic lens rather than through a civil rights view. In money-obsessed America, this may just be the talking point that wins over our fellow citizens.
