Submitted by Joann Wheeler
Richard Florida on Diversity as an Economic Growth Factor
"Places with high concentrations of gays and bohemians tend to have higher rates of innovation and economic growth...I'm not suggesting that gays and bohemians literally cause regions to grow. Rather, their presence...is an indicator of an underlying culture that's open-minded and diverse. The most successful regions welcome all kinds of people. Only 23.5% of Americans now live in the standard nuclear family. Appealing only to traditional families and excluding or denigrating everybody else may be good propaganda for the culture wars, but as a development strategy it's a disaster."
So, how many good, creative people, gay or straight, bohemian or not, can we afford to shut out? As citizens, we can't afford it for the good of our region. And as human beings, we can't afford it for the good of our souls.
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