Marriage equality will boost New York's economy

New York City Comptroller William C.Thompson, Jr. has quantified the economic benefits of marriage to New York State and New York City in a report his office put out today called “Love Counts.”

He’s done some very interesting number crunching that includes using U.S. Census data and other information about same-sex couples here in New York and out-of-state to determine how much our economy will benefit from the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Bottom line: marriage for same-sex couples boosts the NYS economy by $184 million and the NYC economy by $142 million the first three years after legalization. Comptroller Thompson summarizes the findings of his report here.

And why shouldn’t marriage be good for the economy? A couple’s wedding day is about having family and friends be part of a public affirmation of the love they have for each other and that usually costs something. In a more general sense, though, marriage is about making families stronger and communities stronger so the fact that there’s a connection to the economy makes perfect cents.