Washington DC

Decriminalizing the Hobby
Jackbenimble17 181 Reviews 2091 reads
posted

Interesting Bill being proposed in DC by a City Councilman looking to decriminalizing the hobby.  Weed is already legal, why not sex!  Thoughts?

Since the DC government will be involved you can predict lots of regulation, mostly creating yet more chaos  in dealing with those people..Exacerbated by a bunch of girls who wouldnt play by the rules in any event..

I doubt it would be a well functioning situation.

even a quasi semi legal situation, like for weed, which lessened the fear or prosecution, like for weed (which is now sold openly, though selling weed is still technically illegal...) would definitely drive down prices.  Right now there is a considerable prohibition tax.   What would be a $300 service here is $80 in the Netherlands or Germany, equally expensive first world countries otherwise with similar purchase power parity.  It would even drive down the price in adjacent illegal markets, as they had to compete with the dropping prices in the District.

"would definitely drive down prices" huh?  Based on what?  Your nonspecific comparison of some unnamed service in the US to an unnamed service in an arbitrarily chosen country?  A "prohibition tax" of some undefined amount?  Not exactly rigorous analytics.  These little pseudo-economic theories on escorting are always long on supposition and short on data.

Your counter theory, that the illegality of a service does not effect the price , is more plausible?  The "prohibition tax" doesn't need to be a specified amount, since my prediction is only that prices would come down.  A 5% drop and a 50% drop would equally confirm the prediction.    
So, in your world, if Pfizer started making medical grade cocaine available in CVS, and Philip Morris was cranking out identical dosage marijuana cigarettes available in vending machines... the price would remain the same as in a prohibition market?  
BTW, the countries weren't arbitrary, as the OP notes... they are first world developed economies with similar GDP per capita and similar cost of living, but with total legalization.  As much as possible, an apples to apples comparison.

I didn't present a "theory."  I only pointed out that you drew a very specific conclusion based on wishes and very little concrete info.  And now you're making bad analogies.  

tanker88105 reads

Friends; yes, risk would go down as would prices.  Probably many more choices, and I can see how many of us feel that is good.  Thinking it out from our lady friends' point of view, it seems a mixed bag.  Less risk, but less financial reward.  Ladies, what think you?  Of course true gentlemen see the worth of a special lady and make sure she knows it.  I would expect that to continue...

or host here.  Actually think it would have the opposite effect. Don't think you guys are thinking it through.  If a lady can make 500 in NYC or Boston, why would she want to come to DC, for 300, even if it is decriminalized.  If you are savvy and screen properly, decriminalization means nothing.

Could be, but I believe that anything that has been legalized increased quality went up while prices went down.
If currently established women would look for illegal markets where prohibition boosted prices, then other women would possibly be brought into the market.   Perhaps with all the 'women as victim' centered policing, legalization would increase demand more than it increased supply, due to men experiencing the greater police threat, thereby raising prices? A puzzle wrapped by a conundrum.  Let's find out!

sinfin76 reads

when you get sent out to Johns schools and your wife finds out. Who really cares anymore about the crime right? Or you think they would do nothing to Johns? Again, all you doing is thinking with the little head of yours.

I don't get your point.  I am saying legalization should cause prices to drop as is normal with legalized versus black market goods.  Your counter point is that legalization will result in more Johns getting legal penalties?  Huh?  Maybe, I haven't read the proposal, but... that doesn't sound like legalization to me.  
I know Scandinavia has transitioned to the Punish the Man only law, decriminalizing it for prostitutes but being harsher to Johns... is that the proposal here?

armslength73 reads

If the hobby were legal in DC, as a hobbyist I would definitely be spending more time and $$ in DC whether the quality, quantity, or cost of the ladies went up or down, because I do not want to be pinched.
My spending would drive up all three of those numbers.  More ladies going into the business would drive costs down.    It is difficult to predict what would happen overall.

Honestly, I really don't think this will affect rates at all. This isn't a form of legalization where there would be regulation rather than prohibition, as the article states, its instead a harm reduction centered approach.  

"As drafted, the Reducing Criminalization to Promote Public Safety and Health Amendment Act of 2017 gets rid of all criminal penalties for "pandering or inducing an individual to engage in prostitution" for consenting adults. It does not create any red light districts or way of regulating sex work, and coercing people against their will to engage in sex work remains illegal."

Not sure how concern about increasing rates is the takeaway from this rather than celebration...
This is such great news and I hope other cities take this into consideration!

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