Economics
There She Is -- New Jersey Bestows Public Cash on Miss America
- Agency subsidizes pageant without clear statistics of benefit
- Atlantic City generates funds it doesn’t control, faces crisis
The Miss America pageant in Atlantic City in 1969.
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The Miss America pageant was dreamed up in the 1920s to bring money to Atlantic City. In 2016, that’s what New Jersey considers as economic development for the beleaguered seaside resort.
The beauty contest will return Sept. 11 -- thanks in no small part to public dollars. With Atlantic City on the financial brink, the New Jersey agency that subsidizes the pageant has nearly doubled its contribution for the next three showcases of sequins and heels.