There are some things that I try to avoid talking about in my posts, mainly because I (or someone else) could get carried away with the subject matter. There is the potential for my writing something that someone would take offense to, it turns into a big mess, we squabble and a lot of time and energy is wasted on something that has turned into a distraction. I’ve been down that road a few times and I can tell you it’s not fun, it’s very frustrating, and when your own message gets lost it can be quite maddening. That said, today I feel that I have to put my own two cents in on a topic that has political, economic and (for some of you) religious overtones…
Same-sex Marriage.
Now before I get to it let me preface this topic and say that as a happily married, 42-year-old heterosexual male I do not feel that a Gay or Lesbian couple getting married in any way threatens the sanctity of my own marriage. I personally do not feel threatened by Ellen and Portia getting married, or if Rachel and Susan want to get hitched. Just because a same-sex couple wants to tie the knot doesn’t mean that Wifey and I will cease to be married the second they do. We will still be married and the vows we made will be just as valid as they were before. My marriage is strong enough to withstand pretty much anything, thank you very much, and if something or someone does somehow threaten it then I am man enough to protect it myself without the meddling of the Religious Right. I don’t need Bryan Fischer or anyone else trying to pass legislation to that effect, which I take as an insult to my manhood because I think that they are saying that I am not man enough to look after my own marriage, so they are going to look after it for me. These are the people who belong to the party of “small government”? Yeah right, government that is so small that it fits into every one’s bedroom!
OK, see what I mean about getting carried away?!?!?!? Anyway…
Last night on his show, Keith Olbermann took Michael Steele to task for Steele’s claim that allowing Same-sex Marriage would have an adverse effect on small businesses around the country.
I have to agree with Keith that not only would Same-sex Marriage not have an adverse effect on small businesses, but that it would in reality have a stimulative effect on small businesses around the country. Think about it – all the extra business that would go to local florists, bakers, caterers, hotels, photographers, videographers, and all the other businesses that are normally associated with weddings.
And think about all of the extra jobs that would be created as a result of that!!!!!
Look at the video again and look at the stats that Keith quotes in this piece. In California alone, where the state economy is on the verge of collapse, 2,200 new jobs related to the wedding industry would have been created. The state would have taken in $64 million in new tax revenue as well as $9 million in marriage licensing fees. Now, do you think that any of that money would have been able to at least partially balance California’s budget, or even fix a few potholes? That’s just in California, what about the rest of the country?
The marriage industry is a $70 billion a year cash cow for those businesses who specialize in making one day the best day of any newlywed couple’s life! Think about all of the extra revenue those small businesses would be able to bring in with same-sex marriages. They estimate that an additional $16.8 billion would be pumped into the coffers of small businesses around the country. Think about all of the extra work that would be created, and think about all of the extra jobs that would be created thanks to this stimulus package that doesn’t cost the taxpayers one red cent!!!
And Michael Steele has a problem with those jobs and their creation? He doesn’t want to see people who are in need of an income go back to work if it means that Gays and Lesbians would get married? Oh that’s right, I forgot! If Gays and Lesbians had the right to marry, then that means that Government would have to give them the right to marry. In which case all of the jobs that will then be created will be courtesy of your local state government – and according to Micheal Steele, Government doesn’t create jobs!!! Of course, how silly of me!!!
OK, whatever your feelings are about Same-sex Marriage is fine by me. I know that some of you are for it, some of you are against it – and that’s OK – let’s just agree to disagree.
But the argument that Michael Steele tried to make about it hurting small businesses is just asinine, it would have the opposite effect!!! How, in the name of everything holy can someone, who is a top political figure in the GOP (allegedly) try to sell a point of view that would be detrimental to the economy by saying that allowing same-sex marriage would be detrimental to the economy? When people who are unemployed, underemployed and underutilized could use the income that these jobs could give them, why try to deny us desperately needed jobs in the middle of a recession?!?
Please, don’t insult our intelligence Mr. Steele, we know better!!!
