Byron York explores the implications for the Washington Examiner:
Right now, it’s all just talk. But what would happen if the boycotts become a reality? In addition to tourism, Arizona is a major presence in the construction, health care, manufacturing and aerospace industries. What if some cities, or even entire states, canceled their business with Arizona-based companies?
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if that started, at any level, there would be reciprocation from Arizona,” says Barry Broome, president of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “A boycott can only lead to harm.”
It’s a pretty simple situation. Lots of cities in California, for instance, do business with Arizona-based companies. But Arizona also does business with lots of California-based companies. “How many Los Angeles- and San Francisco-based companies are doing hundreds of millions of dollars of work in Arizona?” Broome asks. “We have a huge construction and public works platform.”
If L.A. and San Francisco were to cut off all business in Arizona, Arizona could find itself forced to do the same thing. “We would be zeroing in on California companies,” Broome says.
The result would be insanity — a trade war inside the United States, all over a law legitimately passed by the Arizona state legislature, signed by the governor and supported by a majority of its people.
