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Gay Marriage as an Economic Development Plan?

By Maggie Gallagher, Chairman, National Organization for Marriage

Published March 21st, 2011. Available online at http://nomblog.com/6419/

The headline in the March 16, 2011 Columbus, Indiana Republic said Cummins: Gay Marriage

Ban Bad for Business.1

Cummins, Inc. which makes engines and emissions control systems and mobile energy units for

the Army, and stuff like that, is headquartered in Columbus, Indiana. During state senate

hearings over the Indiana state marriage amendment Jill Cook, the vice president of human

resources, testified that the marriage amendment would harm Cummins business and make thecompany reluctant to create jobs in Indiana.

This resolution sends a powerful message that Indiana is not a place that welcomes

people of all backgrounds, and it jeopardizes our ability to be competitive in global

markets, Ms. Cook testified.

I hope not under oath, or with her hand on a Bible, because thats an amazing whopper we are

hearing more and more often.

In Rhode Island, newly-elected Gov. Lincoln Chafee actually touted gay marriage as a serious

and important part of his economic development plan for Rhode Island.

In his inaugural address he claimed passing gay marriage would do more for economic growth

in our state than any economic-development loan. Hes taken to running around Providence

brandishing a copy of the 2007 book The Flight of the Creative Class by Prof. Richard Florida,

to try to prove his point.

In January, notes Providence Journal columnist Edward Fitzpatrick2, Chafee talked

about Floridas book when he chaired the state Economic Development Corporation

Board for the first time. And during the February 6 edition of WJARs 10 News

Conference, Chafee cited the book in making the case for legalizing same-sex marriage.

On 10 News Conference, Jim Taricani noted that in his inaugural speech, Chafee said,

Mark my words, those two actions will do more for economic growth in our state than

any economic development loan.

1http://www.therepublic.com/view/local_story/Cummins_Gay_marriage_ban_bad_f_1300328368/

2http://www.projo.com/news/efitzpatrick/edward_fitzpatrick_13_02-13-11_87MD4Q3_v65.178a1bb.html

http://nomblog.com/6419/http://nomblog.com/6419/

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Taricani asked, Do you have a factual basis for saying that? Has that been the case in

other states?

Sure, Chafee said. Look at Silicon Valley. Look at Cambridge. Taricani asked,

What did that have to do with gay marriage or illegal immigration?

[Particularly since they dont have gay marriage in Silicon Valley.]

But undaunted Chafee persisted in digging his hole: These are areas where innovation

prospers. And there is a book out by Richard Florida people are talking about, and hes

making that exact point.

Taricani asked, What?

That you can look at economic growth where there is tolerance, Chafee said.

Clearly a new meme has been launched. The people who launched it must be counting on the

idea that nobody will bother to point out how ludicrously unsupported by the facts it is.

Whether or not tolerance is associated with economic growth, gay marriage is clearly not.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes yearly and trend data on economic growth,

including the years increase in personal income per capita.

Take a look at this chart: eight of the top ten states with the fasted growth in per capital personalincome from 1999-2009 have state marriage amendments. None have gay marriage.

1999-2009 average annual growth rate of PCPI3 (Per capita personal income)

State PCPI increase Marriage amendment?

Wyoming 5.9%

North Dakota 5.7% Yes

Louisiana 5.3% Yes

Montana 4.7% Yes

Oklahoma 4.6% Yes

South Dakota 4.4% Yes

Hawaii 4.4% Yes

West Virginia 4.3%

Arkansas 4.2% Yes

3http://www.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/statebf.cfm

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Alaska 4.2% Yes

Or consider another potential measure of a states business climate: What do CEOs think? Chief

Executive magazine annually surveys 543 CEOs to identify which states are the best and the

worst for job growth and business4. In 2009, the top five states were: Texas, North Carolina,

Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Four out of five have marriage amendments, and none have gay

marriage.

(The worst? California, New York, Michigan, New Jersey, and yes, Massachusetts.)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also compiles a list of states that are the top "overall growth

performers" a measure which combines job growth rate since 2000, and since 2007, gross state

product (GSP), real GSP growth since 2000, GSO per job 2008, and growth in GSP per job.5 The

top five states in overall growth performance (in descending order): North Dakota, Virginia,South Dakota, Maryland and Wyoming. The top three all have state marriage amendments, none

have gay marriage (Indeed the Maryland legislature in a surprise move rejected a gay marriage

bill this month after a powerful public outpouring of objections, including from black churches).

Perhaps my favorite data point comes from this same recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey

(Enterprising States6) which includes a ranking for what it called middle-class job growth.

These are presumably the good jobs that the creative class seeks or fosters or whatever.

What are the top five states for growing middle-class jobs between 2002 and 2009? Utah,

Wyoming, Nevada, Hawaii and Texas.

True of these five states oneWyomingdoes not have a marriage amendmentyet. It almost

passed one, this year however. If it did, perhaps its middle class job growth will come plunging

to a halt, but somehow I doubt it.

The tiny number of liberal northeastern states that have embraced gay marriage tend to have high

per capita incomes, because they are much older, supporting fewer children, and much whiter,

and better educated than average. They are older in part because with so little job growth, young

adults with families move elsewhere,7most likely to a southern state with a marriage amendment

that enjoys more robust economic growth.

Why would a representative from Cummins, Inc. make such a ludicrous claim that we would say

4http://www.chiefexecutive.net/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?

sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications::Article&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=D8BB

1C4F12AE46EF9B7647E09E3253A6&AudID=F242408EE36A4B18AABCEB1289960A075 http://ncf.uschamber.com/enterprising-states/6

http://ncf.uschamber.com/wp-content/uploads/final-report-Enterprising-States-email.pdf7

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/young_adults_planning_to_leave.html

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misleads the public, if it were not for the fact the public finds it ludicrous too? We do not know,

we say, shaking our heads in amazement.

But a few days ago Cumminss CEO Tim Solso was appointed to Pres. Obama's Presidential

Management Advisory Board.

A bit of behind the scenes back-scratching?

Well never know for sure.

One thing we do know for sure: if gay marriage is a big part of your governors or your business

leaders idea of an economic development plan, your state is in trouble.