Study: Same-sex marriages would add $80M to Georgia economy

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 8/28/14 | Dan Chapman

[madprof98]

Allowing same-sex marriage in Georgia would pump nearly $80 million into the state’s economy, according to a study released Thursday by the UCLA school of law.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 21,318 same-sex couples live in Georgia. Half would choose to marry within three years, the law school’s Williams Institute estimates, based on similar patterns in Massachusetts and other states where same-sex marriage is legal.

Highlights of the study include:

- Spending on wedding arrangements by the couples, and their out-of-town guests, would add $78.8 million to the state and local economies over three years.

[greene66]

For much of my life, I pondered the prospect of America ending during the span of my lifetime. All sorts of potential avenues for its disintegration. It’s been common fodder in fictional narratives for ages.

But I have to admit, I never really anticipated seeing my country actually embracing evil, and devolving into a deviant, morally-bankrupt entity along the way. That’s been the unexpected fly in the ointment. It really alters the entire way I view America and its survival.

[Salvation]

Great post. Makes me wonder what is next>

[wrench]

Just give a slingshot and a bag of marbles to each middleschool boy in Ga.. Tell him to break as many windows as he can on the weekend, till he runs out of marbles.

The economy would absolutely explode from all the new business, 80M would be but a drop in the bucket compared to a real window war.

[bk1000]

I don’t care if it would add $80b, I refuse to accept it.

[heye2monn]

Or medical bills

[JSDude1]

Liberal bull cr*p!

[Milton Miteybad]

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the real GDP of the State of Georgia in 2013 was $424.6 billion.

$80MM is .00018841 of the total real GDP of Georgia in 2013.

This increment of additional revenue would be so laughably small and so infinitesimally puny in comparison to the rest of the Georgia economy that only an intellectual lightweight would attempt to justify same-sex marriage on the basis of its economic benefits. In fact, the numbers indicate that the economic benefit to the State of Georgia of legal same-sex marriage is as close to ZERO as you can get without it actually being zero.

[TheBattman]

They also failed to take into consideration the additional burden to employers and the government in new benefits being paid to “spouses” of same-sex couples...

[BookmanTheJanitor]

these positive economic projections are always so dead on. (sarcasm)

[Doomonyou]

And cost the state 200M in aids treatments

[kearnyirish2]

Yes; here in NJ we’ve been fed BS business news for years (all preaching about how things are improving) while we continue to circle the drain. I live a few miles south of a new mall in the Meadowlands (next to the new Giants Stadium) that was completed years ago and never opened; now South Jersey is losing four casinos.

All the while we hear BS talk about recovery, while the Masters of the Lie dance around the obvious common theme: Discretionary dollars are gone for most people in this state with among the highest taxes in the nation.

[tacticalogic]

Was the study peer reviewed by people who aren’t gay?