The Bathroom Bill is costing North Carolina a crazy amount of money
Someone added up the cost of the Bathroom Bill that’s been the cause of much debate in North Carolina, and it’s a lot.
The anti-LGBT bill has proved incredibly unpopular; with companies withdrawing job contracts, musicians refusing to play concerts and sports events refusing to have matches in the state.
Wired added up the cost of the Bill so far, and so far the cost comes in at just over a mind blowing $395 million.
Although the prices won’t be spot on, they’re a pretty good indicator of how damaging it is not just socially, but economically.
A full break down of the sum shows a huge amount lost to sporting events, as well as tech companies.
The republican leadership has racked up $176,000 in legal fees paid for with tax dollars – $47,000 of that is lawyers just for Governor Pat McCrory.
$500,000 was taken from the disaster relief fund and given to Governor McCrorys offices for the litigation.
According to the think tank Centre for American Progress, business boycotts and pullouts have cost North Carolina another $87.7 million.
Lionsgate’s boycott on Charlotte as a filming location lost the state $3 million.
When PayPal cancelled their expansion into the state it cost $58.3 million. Another unnamed country also pulled out of this expansion deal. The deal would have included 400 highly skilled PayPal jobs with an estimated total salary of $20 million.
The state’s three largest cities, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau lost $109.4 million to canceled conferences and other events since the bill was enacted.
It’s also estimated that the loss of the Bruce Springsteen gig lost the state $700,000.
North Carolina missed out on $106 million when the NBA pulled their All-Star Game. $51 million was lost from the NCAA and and $40.4 million from the ACC when they followed suit and decided to boycott their championship games.
The HB2 law states that you must use the bathroom according to what gender is listed on your birth certificate, despite your current gender identity.
The state hasn’t repealed the law despite protest from across the globe. The Governor of North Carolina has said his state would call a special session to consider repealing the widely condemned law, but only if the city of Charlotte repeals its own LGBT protections.
