North Carolina is projected to lose $3.76 billion in business thanks to its controversial "bathroom bill" that curbs LGBT rights, the Associated Press reported Monday.
For years, Republican politicians in the state have assured voters that North Carolina's economy would not be negatively affected by the unpopular legislation. But a recent AP analysis reveals just how devastating of an impact the law has had on the states economy.
According to the AP:
Over the past year, North Carolina has suffered financial hits ranging from scuttled plans for a PayPal facility that would have added an estimated $2.66 billion to the state's economy to a canceled Ringo Starr concert that deprived a town's amphitheater of about $33,000 in revenue. The blows have landed in the state's biggest cities as well as towns surrounding its flagship university, and from the mountains to the coast.
North Carolina could lose additional revenue — hundreds of millions of dollars worth — because the NCAA is avoiding the state, the AP reported.
Supporters of the "bathroom law" have said that the media is inflating the costs of passing the bill. Shortly after then-Gov. Pat McCrory signed the law, he issued a statement assuring residents it wouldn't affect North Carolina's status as "one of the top states to do business in the country."
The ninth-most populous state in the country, North Carolina does have a healthy economy by other measures, but the analysis shows the economy could be growing faster if not for projects that have already canceled, the AP reported.
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