Editorial: HB2 is a $3.7 billion boondoggle
On the heels of the AP report showing that HB2 will cost North Carolina nearly $4 billion, the News and Observer is out with a scathing editorial highlighting the hypocrisy from politicians in Raleigh on HB2 and jobs.
Basically, Republicans are standing behind their horrendous mistake 1. because they can and 2. because HB2’s financial impact has affected mainly urban areas, which Republicans see as strongholds for Democrats.
It’s as if they care little about the damage this ridiculous law has done to North Carolina’s progressive reputation, something that was, by the way, good for business.
But the AP shows how bad it has been for business, from the lost PayPal facility (adding $2.66 billion to the state’s economy over years) to concerts to expansions of companies to lost entertainment shows to the looming cancellation of NCAA events. The NCAA is getting ready, after the Final Four, to announce sites for championships through 2022. Absent repeal of HB2, North Carolina, which has enjoyed favored status with the NCAA, won’t be among them. So there will go another few hundred million dollars.
What a tragic irony that leaders who have touted their ability to create jobs and run the economy have done so much damage to it. They are hurting people who need work, families who need a living. And all to advance an ideological agenda as they try to make a discriminatory law the centerpiece, the symbol, of that agenda.
