From Coase to Hos

Andrew Chamberlain surveys recent findings from the new prostitutional economics.

Comments

[Pavel]

Julian, are you a Space Ghost fan or was that an accident?

[Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)]

See, first they let the gays marry, and next thing you know the Columbia Economics Department is publishing papers on prostitution!

Folks, the world is ending. The only way to prevent it is to give my party as much power as possible, and we'll ensure that everybody is moral.

[Mark S.]

In the immortal words of Chef from South Park: Remember children, you don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay her to leave." There are no obligations tied to the services of prostitutes. No hearts-and-flowers lies about "love" and "commitment." You get what you pay for and that's it.

With the holy, sanctified, and government approved institution of marriage you get to pay and pay and pay and pay, and after your SO has you fattened up for the divorce, you get to pay even more. In the end, your heart is broken, your credit rating is shot, and you get to see your kids every other week.

Western civilization has it ass-backwards: Prositution should be revered as a honest business. It's marriage that should be outlawed.

[kmw]

Too true, Mark... Too true.

Unfortunately, with 35% of America clinging to Evangelical Christianity, prositution won't be legitimized/legalized any time soon.

Mo asked before, and I second the notion... What the hell's the difference between a porn actress and a hooker. (There is none.)

[[e-mail]]

OK, *that* was the funniest Hit & Run title I think I've ever seen.

[kmw]

Too true, Mark... Too true.

Unfortunately, with 35% of America clinging to Evangelical Christianity, prositution won't be legitimized/legalized any time soon.

Mo asked before, and I second the notion... What the hell's the difference between a porn actress and a hooker. (There is none.)

[Xavier]

Forget convincing the electorate. The Supreme Court should strike anti-prostitution laws. Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process has traditionally been used to protect two things: commercial activity and sexual activity. Prostitution is both. I can think of no activity more clearly deserving of constitutional protection.

[thoreau]

Xavier, if we do that, some libertoids will get angry that judges are oppressing us by removing restrictions on commercial and sexual activity.

[Ruthless]

I thought this topic was going to be about economists who prostitute themselves babbling on about the "multiplier effects" of a school levy increase or a taxpayer-paid sports stadium.

Have we ever had that topic?

[Dan]

Mo asked before, and I second the notion... What the hell's the difference between a porn actress and a hooker. (There is none.)

Prostitutes get paid to perform sex acts on clients. Porn actresses get paid for being filmed having sex.

[Mo and kmw]

D'oh!

[anon]

The U S Postal Service is issuing a commerative stamp for prostitution, to bolster it's bottom line.... it will cost 37 cents and 10 cents more if you want to lick it

[kat]

neither a ho nor a wife. Geez you guys are all a total turn-off.

entry cost of celibacy: priceless.

bleh.