Ellebelle

reblog if u are currently a mess

concept: me, drinking coffee in a café in a foreign country. it’s raining outside. i’m reading my favorite book. everything is okay, and i’m never stressed. 

I wish you would.. 

Why is prostitution illegal? What’s a legitimate reason that isn’t an appeal to morals?

My first thought was risk of spreading STDs and STIs which is a health hazard, but then I remembered that if it was legalized then the same sort of regulations the porn industry has would probably spread to it. Honestly, most of the (few) reasons I can come up with are probably solvable with those sorts of regulations.

Same here; I thought about it several times, and I also realized how hard it is to keep my biases from interfering.

It’s illegal because we live in a country founded by prudes. That’s literally the only reason.

It’s illegal because the government can’t come up with a legitimate way to track it and tax it. If the government can’t tax it, you can’t do it.

The government can’t tax it BECAUSE it’s illegal. If it was legal it would be a legitimate business like any other and it could be taxed just like any other legitimate business. There would also be “freelance” prostitutes, for lack of a better term, and they’d be taxed like any other freelance professional like an artist or writer. By making it illegal they’ve made it impossible to tax.

I get what you’re saying, but it would be impossible to tax it. There’s a huge difference in freelance artists or writers than prostitutes. Would there be legitimate corporations that sold sex, above the board, and safely? Yeah, of course. But there would be way more of your ‘freelance artists’. There’s absolutely no way that people would settle for the government interfering in their sex lives, because, whether it’s a business venture or not, it will NEVER be acceptable for someone to say to someone else ‘who did you sleep with, how much did you make’. It’s not untaxable because it’s illegal. It’s illegal because it’s untaxable. There is no feasible way to make that work.

I disagree as it seems to work out just fine in Nevada. I’m not sure how their tax system works but I imagine they tax it the same way they would any other income. Not to mention that it’s safer for both parties when it’s legal since they can work for actual businesses and be protected against both violence and STDs.

From my understanding, which I'll admit could be outdated, the laws in Nevada on prostitution are extremely strict. It's only allowed in rural counties (with populations less than 400,000, which eliminates both Vegas and Reno where prostitution is still a major issue); it's not taxed by the state, only the rural counties; it's only permitted in organized businesses, thus ruling out any 'freelance' work; men are still prohibited to work as sex workers. It's most assuredly safer in an organized business, I'm not arguing that. Licensed sex workers are required to be tested regularly, and generally employment clauses would protect them from physical/emotional violence. It would also be a great income for the government, if it's done right it's a 'victimless crime', it would ensure workers got fair wages and safe working environments, and it's not something that's going to go away whether it's legalized or not. I'm simply saying that, unless the government can find a way to accurately tax it and make it worth their while, it's going to remain illegal. Side note: it would be really difficult to ensure adequate safety by any freelance workers, even if they could somehow track taxing it. Working for a company makes sense, they're protecting their investments. It's not fair to compare it to art and artists where, if you're not following stringent laws, there's little chance of hurting others. It's more like food service, where the government has to come in and approve your facilities to protect the health of your consumers. Not to be crude, but if you're looking at sex as a business, you have to provide legitimate business laws. Freelance will never work as a legal business because it's too risky. If you pass something on to someone, you've opened yourself up to all sorts of lawsuits, and you're not protected by anything or anyone because you're not a company or corporation, your a freelancer.

Why is prostitution illegal? What’s a legitimate reason that isn’t an appeal to morals?

My first thought was risk of spreading STDs and STIs which is a health hazard, but then I remembered that if it was legalized then the same sort of regulations the porn industry has would probably spread to it. Honestly, most of the (few) reasons I can come up with are probably solvable with those sorts of regulations.

Same here; I thought about it several times, and I also realized how hard it is to keep my biases from interfering.

It’s illegal because we live in a country founded by prudes. That’s literally the only reason.

It’s illegal because the government can’t come up with a legitimate way to track it and tax it. If the government can’t tax it, you can’t do it.

The government can’t tax it BECAUSE it’s illegal. If it was legal it would be a legitimate business like any other and it could be taxed just like any other legitimate business. There would also be “freelance” prostitutes, for lack of a better term, and they’d be taxed like any other freelance professional like an artist or writer. By making it illegal they’ve made it impossible to tax.

I get what you're saying, but it would be impossible to tax it. There's a huge difference in freelance artists or writers than prostitutes. Would there be legitimate corporations that sold sex, above the board, and safely? Yeah, of course. But there would be way more of your 'freelance artists'. There's absolutely no way that people would settle for the government interfering in their sex lives, because, whether it's a business venture or not, it will NEVER be acceptable for someone to say to someone else 'who did you sleep with, how much did you make'. It's not untaxable because it's illegal. It's illegal because it's untaxable. There is no feasible way to make that work.