An Economic Argument for Gay Marriage

Legalizing gay marriage would add $142 million in economic benefits to New York City’s economy over three years, according to a report from
the City Comptroller, Bill Thompson.

According to a statement from Thompson’s office, the money “would be derived from the spending of residents and visitors on their
weddings, along with the spending of their out-of-town guests.”

That burst of wedding-related business would far outweigh the costs incurred by businesses who would have to extend benefits to the new
spouses of employees, according to Thompson.

The report is one of the first in New York to lay out an economic justification for one of the hot button issues of the day.

Could this be the political cover that some of the fence-sitting Democrats in Albany have been waiting for?