Should it be illegal to buy sex?

[Hamishlacastle]

the john gets a ticket to give to the girl who turns it in to get her money.

[thedominthehat]

I think the main issue with legal prostitution is finding a way to regulate that keeps it safe for all concerned and keeps the pimps and organized crime out .

I do not think it should be illegal to sell sex. I do think that brothels/massage parlors or home-based businesses are greatly preferable to street walking but I can understand the desire to not have pimps/madams profiting off this. The last thing we need is for this to go corporate and have Wall Street pressuring pimps to keep those sessions short and wages low. I think condoms and regular STD testing should be mandatory (a lot of the porn biz already does this).

The problem is you can structure the biz relationship many ways to avoid admitting the reality that a paid security guard is often going to actually be a pimp or that a booking service is really going to be a madam or that a motel or red light rowhouse is really just a brothel with a brothel owner making most of the money. How do you make sure that the vast majority of the money stays with the workers and that they don't end up being exploited by the owners of red-light rooms, or "security guards".

That is one reason why efforts to ban ads on craigslist and elsewhere on the internet are counter-productive since craigslist provides a safer way for sole-proprietors to find clients without relying on madams or walking the streets and then needing "security"

In terms of harm reduction and simple good policy, legalizing both the activities of the prostitutes and their customers would go a long way towards keeping things safer.

[Thorne]

How do you make sure that the vast majority of the money stays with the workers and that they don't end up being exploited by the owners of red-light rooms, or "security guards".

Isn't this basically a problem in any industry? The owners/managers make much more money than the laborers. But something along the lines of beauty shops/hair salons is an option. The owner supplies the building and security for a fixed fee while the prostitute works as an independent contractor.

In terms of harm reduction and simple good policy, legalizing both the activities of the prostitutes and their customers would go a long way towards keeping things safer.

Not to mention providing tax dollars and licensing fees to cash-strapped communities.

I wonder if you could claim a medical deduction for using a licensed prostitute, for stress reduction. Maybe with a prescription?

[DuncanONeil]

I am glad I read yours before I responded to the previous message. Seeing that it was you is why that happened. Often save me the time taken to reply.

Just a few points though. The previous writer seems to want no management at all. You on the other hand seem to understand some management is necessary. I think it is likely that you will already know of the necessity for the points I am going to include.

• Providing a facility
  
  • Rent, or mortgage
  • PMI if there is a mortgage
  • heat
  • hot water
  • electricity
  • License fees
  • Liability insurance
  • business insurance
• Services
  
  • HR services
  • Taxes
  • Medical evaluation
  • provider licensing
  • payroll
  • security
  • supplies
  • maintenance

[/LIST]

I am sure there may be a few things I overlooked but I do think this explains why it may appear that the management is taking more than they should.

Isn't this basically a problem in any industry? The owners/managers make much more money than the laborers. But something along the lines of beauty shops/hair salons is an option. The owner supplies the building and security for a fixed fee while the prostitute works as an independent contractor.


Not to mention providing tax dollars and licensing fees to cash-strapped communities.

I wonder if you could claim a medical deduction for using a licensed prostitute, for stress reduction. Maybe with a prescription?

[Thorne]

Duncan, your lists are valid if the business is set up along the lines of a bordello, such that the prostitutes actually work for the manager. What I was suggesting, though, was more along the lines of someone providing a workspace for independent contractors. In that case, the items on your first list may be applicable (I'm not sure about the business insurance: basically you are renting out space, not running a business from that space.) The contractors (prostitutes) pay a fixed monthly fee for use of the space, which may or may not include security, and are free to charge whatever the traffic will bear for their services.

I'm not sure which type of operation would be more beneficial to the prostitutes, though. Probably wind up with both kinds, the bordello model being more upscale and therefore more expensive. And probably safer for all concerned, as well. Chances are you would still have street-walkers, too, but they would be more likely to be drug addicts and those unable to get licenses because of legal issues or health issues. A customer would (literally) take his life in his hands by choosing one of those.

[DuncanONeil]

I agree that much is variable in this list. But the objection listed, not so sure, the leasing of space is a business.
If some of the things in the second list are eliminated then you basically have a street walker with an office.

Duncan, your lists are valid if the business is set up along the lines of a bordello, such that the prostitutes actually work for the manager. What I was suggesting, though, was more along the lines of someone providing a workspace for independent contractors. In that case, the items on your first list may be applicable (I'm not sure about the business insurance: basically you are renting out space, not running a business from that space.) The contractors (prostitutes) pay a fixed monthly fee for use of the space, which may or may not include security, and are free to charge whatever the traffic will bear for their services.

I'm not sure which type of operation would be more beneficial to the prostitutes, though. Probably wind up with both kinds, the bordello model being more upscale and therefore more expensive. And probably safer for all concerned, as well. Chances are you would still have street-walkers, too, but they would be more likely to be drug addicts and those unable to get licenses because of legal issues or health issues. A customer would (literally) take his life in his hands by choosing one of those.

[Lion]

Within a couple of weeks, it will become legal in Ontario. No one knows exactly what that means exactly because the illegality was struck down by the courts, and the government has vowed to fight back, but as of yet, nothing has happened.