My galfriend and I spent 3 weeks in Christchurch and Aukland. After a few days, I went for a walk, saw a massage parlor, and went in to joke a bit about the girls. The clerk lady said a massage was 50 dollarsNZ(about $35US), and that sex, for an hour,  was 100 dollarsNZ (about 70US). I said she was rather open about the sex part. She said that NZ legalized prositution in all forms in 2004, and since then, sex crimes have dropped, sexually transmitted disease has dropped dramatically, and women dont need pimps there. Women need to be over 18 yrs, get a health card, and use condoms.  I was shown 5 girls in the parlor, took my pick, quick shower, then fs for an hour. That mp had orgies on Fri and Sat for 200NZ.  The newspaper in Christchurch had one and a half columns of various women posting ads, they would send their pics email to you. Most wanted 70 to 100NZ.  The women were sales clerks, nurses, librarians, housewives, etc.  They loved my cowboy Nevada accent.
  The one downside is that a plane ticket costs about $1400 dollars.  
       My point in all this is that we should legalize prostitution in the US, but I think the churches would block it all the way to the Supreme Court. I dont know if anyone else supports my view, but my trip to New Zealand magnified my view of legalizing it.

I know the OP didn't say this, but just because prostitution is legal doesn't mean the price will go down.

I was in New Zealand, not Austrialia, but the Aussies do love our western accent. But I do think if we legalized prostitution in the US, the rates may stay the same, but std's and the sexual crime arrests would be significantly less. There would also be few pimps. In Nevada, we only have a few legal brothels way out away from the 2 big cities.. Its sure doing well in New Zealand.

I was just comparing to another country where there is legalized prostitution.

I support decriminalizing over legalizing.

I never will understand the mentality of our society.  Why is it illegal to exchange money for something that you can legally give away for free?  Makes no sense to me.

Legalizing prostitution will mean it is legal to pimp girls out, therefore you may see a rise in sex trafficking since pimps can do anything they want openly.

Just look at things which have changed in the past few years that once seemed impossible: legalized marijuana,  Gay marriage, and a black president elected.  Looking back, which of these seemed most unlikely 20-30 years ago?

If it's going to be legal, then be legal.  Then deal with all that goes with it.  Licensing (local, state, federal), insurance, Department of Health inspections, permits from the EPA, taxes and audits from the IRS, OSHA regulations (look what's happening to the porn business in California), sanitation permits (don't flush those condoms, they're solid waste!).  If every other business (that is not unlawful) is subject to these things, then prostitution (if legal) must be treated the same.  It can not have some special status where you are ignored by the taxing/regulating bureaucracy (as much as some providers would wish it so).  

It seems to be working well in New Zealand, with none of those problems, but that may be because New Zealand is  small and isolated.