What Does Being Gay Really Cost?

The authors of a widely discussed article published in The New York Times, "The High Price of Being a Gay Couple were the main attraction at a panel discussion at New York’s Gay Center on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. Finance reporter Tara Siegel Bernard and colleague Ron Lieber estimated the additional expenses incurred by two hypothetical gay couples over a fifty-year period, compared to the same expenses incurred by two hypothetical heterosexual couples. The worst-case couple would earn a combined $70,000 annually. The best-case scenario couple earned a combined $160,000. The article, which was highly praised by mainstream and gay readers, examined every detail of how the lack of legal union and other legal restrictions wreaks secret havoc on our financial well being. Two months and 900 fictional tax returns later, Bernard and Siegel emerged with a wide-ranging profile which shattered the myth that gays are more financially robust and advantaged than their heterosexual peers. The two reporters (who are heterosexual), detailed the metholodology of how they crunched the numbers. Full Story from Edge Boston: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=99842

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