Gay Marriage in Iowa = Economic Growth

Hey! A couple of gay guys made history today by getting legally married here in Iowa. Soon after, it became illegal again, which is no surprise to any of us. Our governor, Chet "Big Lug" Culver, is against gay marriage.

Chet is currently campaigning to get some Iowa-born Hollywood celebs to promote our humble state. He wants to stop the brain drain and youth flight from Iowa by having Ashton Kutcher convince people that Iowa is awesome. If it's so awesome, than why did Ashton move? If Chet really wanted to improve our economy, he should make gay marriage legal. Here's my reasoning:

Iowa would be the only midwestern state with legal gay marriage. Women and men would flock here to get married and have their rights as a married couple recognized. Having an increase in the gay & lesbian population would really stimulate the economy: more salons! More art galleries! Clothing boutiques! Restaurants! Theater! It's true: studies have shown that bringing a "creative class" of people to a city spurs economic growth, and who more creative than "the gays"?

Richard Florida, author of "The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life," explained his theory in this interview with Salon.com:

My theory uses the three T's: technology, talent and tolerance. You need to have a strong technology base, such as a research university and investment in technology. That alone is a necessary but not in itself sufficient condition. Second, you need to be a place that attracts and retains talent, that has the lifestyle options, the excitement, the energy, the stimulation, that talented, creative people need. And thirdly, you need to be tolerant of diversity so you can attract all sorts of people -- foreign-born people, immigrants, woman as well as men, gays as well as straights, people who look different and have different appearances.

The reason so many young, creative people (gay or straight) are leaving this state is because there aren't a lot of employment opportunities for them AND the ones that are here don't pay as well as those in other states. Those same people from other states don't want to move here for the same reasons. It's a chicken-and-egg issue: we need more jobs to keep the people, but we need the people to create jobs. Maybe we need to start breaking some eggs.

In honor of this historic day, I present to you episode 5 in the Planet Unicorn saga. Enjoy!