Obamas To B’way: Economic Effects
Last night, the Obamas came to New York to eat at Blue Hill restaurant and to see a Broadway play, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” Crowds of people lined up across from the Belasco Theatre, where “Joe Turner” is playing, to welcome them (scene is pictured). By contrast, the conservative blogosphere complained: how dare the First Couple incur the expenses — mostly, the jet up from D.C. — of a date in New York? How could they send such a signal of “excess” during a recession? These bloggers have a point. Here’s another one: the economic effect of the Obamas’ visit to Broadway. The visit is already having an effect at the ticket cash register, and not just at “Joe Turner.” Broadway provides not only jobs to theatre people but to people in ancillary businesses like restaurants and shops. When you add up all those places, I’m sure that the economic effect was considerably greater than the cost of the President’s fancy ride up from Washington.
