Flint,

<Even in legalized nations the whores feel mental anguish over their choice.>
I'm sure some do. But considering how many occupations have a high risk of poor mental health, it's obviously not a valid reason for outlawing it.

<Even with condoms some STD's can spread (Genital Herpes has been known to grow in other areams, condoms break, etc.)>

So? That is the risk participants choose to face, and is no reason to outlaw it. With this logic, we may as well outlaw sex for those infected with incurable STIs. Moreover, other occupations risk far worse hazards.

<if they made the wrong choice, they live with it, including an arrest record>

The point is that it's counterproductive if the objective is to "save" them from "exploitation."

<Btw those 'sluts' give it for free. Sex is an unlimited commodity and that's why the margins on it are so high.>

Sex is never free. If it was, then prostitution wouldn't exist, and the fair market value for call girls would definitely not be ~$200/hr.

<Btw Justinian, as the current Prophet on Earth, I curse your next solicitation of sex to lead to a child and that the lady successfully tracks you down and attempts to get you to act the father.>

Actually, that would be a blessing.

all the arguments against criminalization of prostitution can be made against allowing women to deny service based on income

Yell,

Except decriminalization and price discrimination are very different. The central point of decriminalization is that people should be able to make free market decisions, and the other arguments are rebuttals to prohibitionists who want it criminalized. On the other hand, price discrimination is an act of making free choices. Although price discrimination is bad in a monopoly, the prostitution market is monopolistic competition by its very nature.

dpenguins,

You have to remember that both Dennis Hof (owner of cat house), and the documentary producers are motivated by their own agendas. Neither sides you mentioned represent the majority of prostitutes, and neither can be counted on for objectivity.

There is no doubt that there is a dark side to prostitution. However, the dark side is mostly limited to street prostitution. Street prostitution is extremely dangerous, so there is some need for protection. These pimps, however, have incentive to drug the women in to dependency. Not all prostitution works this way, however. Even before the internet, many prostitutes were self-employed and advertised in the phone book or they worked through an escort agency. With the internet, self-employment is even easier. They can have their own webpage or post advertisements online etc. Although some pimps have moved their business online, market pressures actually favor self-employment more than ever. The result is that pimping is on the decline.

So you can't look at the glamorous Moonlite BunnyRanch or dark street corner to understand prostitution. You have to understand its market conditions. Understanding them, it becomes clear why it's difficult to criminalize, and why attempting to do so is stupid. For example, prostitutes have created black lists for bad clients, and there are specific websites they advertise from. Without those tools, prostitution will become much more dangerous for the women working independently. Moreover, criminalization does not give prostitutes the incentive to report abuse to law enforcement.

Finally, trafficking and forced prostitution happen, but those cases can be separated from the women who are working independently. We do the same for any business. There are cases of slavery in agriculture, but that is not reason to outlaw it.

Slavery is the problem. It's not a reason to outlaw prostitution or agriculture. Sheesh.

> ~Wornstrum~ wrote:

I do not think anyone claimed that it does.>

Maybe not in this thread explicitly, but it is the reason commonly given in the US.

Yes, our public debates are loony.

I asked him to clarify what he meant by "it"...I haven't once brought up my opinions on the topic...*shrugs and walks off*

the Secret Service sex scandal gives proof we can never decriminalize prostitution in America

here's the facts

guy hires whore at bar
takes whore to hotel
whore wakes up in the morning and wants $800 that was promised
guy says he was drunk and offers $25
whore starts screaming
police come because whore wont shut up
now because prostitution was legal in Colombia, COPS START ARGUING GUY SHOULD PAY WHORE MORE MONEY

who needs that here? seriously?  if you want that you can go to Nevada

As it turns out, $800 is $800.

Well that's not a problem. Many in Amerika want to open our borders, making us the only nation on earth with no immigration laws!

wtf, people in charge of their own lives?! I wanna be a tyrant. That would ruin everything.

What if...what if the best and most unanswerable retort to radical libertarianism wasn't "It offends Jesus" or "We've never done it that way" or "it exploits historic victims of repression"...

what if...radical libertarianism was forced to confront the fact that their world, if realized, would suck.