Give or Take $80 Million...

ACCORDING TO a recent study conducted by the free-market-oriented Beacon Hill Institute at Boston's Suffolk University, the Republican National Convention will generate only $184 million in economic activity—$76 million less than the $260 million claimed by the Bloomberg administration.

Worse, the BHI study does not take into account the effect that so-far unannounced security measures will have on the city's economy. Any plan that calls for the closing of Pennsylvania Station and roads in the vicinity of Madison Square Garden will further decrease the estimate, the study says.

Depending on how much havoc security precautions wreak on the city's economy, the touted benefits of the RNC could evaporate altogether. According to the BHI's study of the Democratic Convention in Boston, scheduled to take place July 26-29, that event will actually inflict an economic loss of $34 million on Beantown, largely because of lost productivity resulting from recently announced security measures, such as the closing of major roadways and transportation hubs.

Considering that the Republican administration in Washington is still planning further cuts to NYC's anti-terror funds, one wonders why Bloomberg or anyone else would want these people as guests, much less care a whit for their comfort and safety.

The Beacon Hill Institute study, entitled, "Lifting the Veil of Secrecy: The Republican National Convention," is available at beaconhill.org.