Same-sex marriage-- I'm sure that this is not what Bruce Ash, John Munger, Jan Brewer, Steve Kozachik, Jack Kemper, and John C. Scott have in mind when they talk about making Tucson and Arizona more "business friendly," but as Judy Tenuta would say, "It could happen."Work with me on this one....
1- Arizona has a multi-million-dollar budget mess on it's hands and no real solutions.
2- Our Republican governor and legislature refuse to take steps to bring more money into the state coffers because the obvious way to increase revenues would be to roll back the tax cuts that they have given businesses and rich people, and that would not be "business friendly."
2- Historically, Arizona has been a major tourist destination. We have plenty of hotels, resorts, and scenic vistas, which are perfect honeymoon retreats.
3- Arizona has the Grand Canyon, great weather in the winter, and the Gem and Mineral Show as tourist magnets, but fostering a new niche market for the tourist industry would make good marketing sense.
4- Arizona politicians-- both Democrat and Republican-- want to appear "business friendly."
So, why not develop same-sex marriage as a niche tourist market? According to this post on Alan Colmes' website, Edmund Egan, chief economist for the City of San Francisco, estimated that same-sex marriages could have earned that city $35 million a year + additional funds in tax revenues (except that California made it illegal with Prop 8).
Same-sex marriage also is illegal in Arizona, but-- hey-- if the legislature really wants to be "business friendly," they can make it happen. Si se puede, fellas. After all, bringing in several million dollars without raising taxes or fees would be "business friendly."
This article originally appeared in my Progressive Examiner column.
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