Recently, CNBC used 51 factors to rank the 50 states in terms of business-friendly atmospheres. Quality of life, infrastructure, “business friendliness,” and other factors were considered as part of 10 broad categories used in the final analysis.
However, it fell to The Christian Post to notice another trend: All of the top 10 states have legislative or constitutional measures that ban same-sex “marriage.” Those states are: South Dakota, Texas, North Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, Virginia, Colorado, Georgia, Wyoming and Idaho.
Supporters of same-sex relationships have long argued that legalizing “marriage” for homosexual couples will be an economic boon to the states that do so. And while it is true that homosexual couples will travel to so-called “gay-friendly” states for wedding ceremonies and honeymoons, and spend money in other ways, evidence exists that these monetary benefits are not enough to help those states rise above the rest.
Consider, for example, a 2012 policy brief by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). The study, which examined 10 factors in comparing states with marriage amendments to those that have legalized same-sex “marriage,”showed mixed economic results from legalizing same-sex “marriage.” The study also showed that states with marriage amendments have a slight edge in economic soundness.
According to NOM, states with marriage amendments make up 90 percent of the top states in overall job growth, 80 percent of the top states in personal income growth, and “make up disproportionately low percentages of the states in the bottom rankings for tax burden (twenty percent), CEO rankings (forty percent), public employment (fifty percent) and domestic migration (fifty percent).” At the time of the study, 30 states – 60 percent of all states – had marriage amendments, and only six states – 12 percent – had legalized same-sex “marriage.”
The NOM study also showed that same-sex marriage-supporting states “are overrepresented on the positive lists of three, and underrepresented on the top lists of seven.” It also says “there is no correlation between states with same-sex marriage and positive indicators for business climate.”
To its credit, and contrary to the assumptions made by same-sex “marriage” supporters, NOM is intellectually honest enough to point out the lack of a causal link between the many good economies and a marriage amendment in the state. Similarly, while CNBC's analysis does show the top 10 business-friendly states are friendly to marriage through legislative or constitutional actions, a number of caveats must be considered. An inexhaustive list includes:
- The tax policies of states: Texas has one of the lowest tax burdens of any state, for example, and no income tax. This encourages many businesses to head south.
- Natural resources are an enormous factor in certain states' upward economic mobility. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas have enormous oil resources that have boomed in recent years.
- Virginia borders Washington, D.C. to the south. A 2013 Forbes analysis found that thanks to an expansion of government over the last decade five of the top wealthiest counties in the country live in that state.
- There is not necessarily a relationship between a state's business friendliness and whether its policies are good for citizens overall. The NOM analysis relies heavily on the Chamber of Commerce, which backs big business over free markets (think TARP, and the Chamber's opposition to Tea Party politicians in favor of establishment Republicans), and the CNBC analysis relies on the National Association of Manufacturers, a trade association in the Beltway that promotes policies good for its members, not economies overall.
Furthermore, it should be noted that marriage-friendly states ranked lower on the Family Research Council's recent “family intactness” study than states in the Northeast. There are two major caveats to this – people in the Northeast have largely stopped getting married, choosing to live together before marriage – whereas marriage-friendly states at least try to respect this important institution enshrined in state laws and constitutions. Furthermore, the Family Research Council study found that black Americans suffer the most from a lack of family intactness, and there are relatively few black Americans in the liberal Northeast.
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Even accounting for all of these factors, however, does not take away from the simple fact that states friendly to business are also states that respect marriage in their legal structures. I suspect the real link is the one between conservative leadership in those states – consider the use of natural resources in the Dakotas, and low taxes in Texas – and positive economic results. Simply put, solid conservative governing includes good tax policy and respect for marriage.
And all of that is good for business.