That Old Testament has some pretty violent and risque stuff in it. Better add a special tax to Bible sales or start taxing the churches to combat the things it is promulgating.

One thing a lot of people don't know about the stripping business is that strip club owners charge the dancers for the privilege of working in the club-- you have to pay a "stage fee" to work in the club, and a portion of your earnings are deducted by the dance manager and the club.

Any added cost imposed on the club will simply be transferred to the dancer. If the club has to shell out more money to stay in business-- or if business suffers-- the stage fees go up and the club will find all kinds of oteh crative ways to squeeze more money out of the dancers (most of whom don't have otehr viable employment options).

Likewise, if the cover charge goes up because of a tax, the clubs will make the dancers make up for it-- most likely by lowering the price of the dances, or creating more "two for one" specials to lure in more customers. They will also raise the fees to protect their revenue.

the result: more abusive working conditions and lower earnings for the workers who are least able to just leave-- the dancers. All in service of keeping the greedy management and the bubba culture that makes up most of the customer base happy.

"At best, the proposals are nonsensical -- at worst, their implicit suggestion that strip club goers and all buyers of legal sexual entertainment are either abusers or contributing to abuse is outrageously offensive and groundless."

What is OUTRAGEOUSLY OFFENSIVE is that you aren't 100% behind this proposal. If a dude wants to go look at some titties, a $5 tax ain't gonna stop him. So, lets tax him, and give them money to victims of sexual something.

Tracy, remember when you took multiple choice tests in grade school?? 'member how you missed a few questions because you overthought the issue and picked out an answer that was less logical than your gut instinct? No? You got every question right? wow. oh. well, anyway, quit overthinking.

Here's my question: is this tax good or bad for America??

My answer: it is a good tax. therefore, i'm not OUTRAGEOUSLY OFFENDED by it.

Sin taxes, liquor, cigarette taxes are just about bilking people who are either chemically unable or morally afraid to fight back. If you run a business that the cops can close down on a whim if you don't bribe them, you can be sure that bribes will be paid.

when someone has already posted what I was thinking, but more eloquently. I'm with Mike and Anon here, shouldn't there be legislation along with this tax to improve dancers' working conditions? Some of the conditions these women work under could be labeled as abuse.

Make the strip clubs pay the dancers for their work. Don't allow them the option of consider dancers to be "independent contractors"-- which really is just a loophole to avoid paying their taxes. Make stage fees illegal.

Make them pay social security taxes, workers compensation, unemployment insurance, healthcare, etc. etc. for the dancers.

The clubs will stay in business by making the customers pay more.

This will effectively force the clubs to become more "high end" (attracting customers with better decor, better food, better drinks, more professional entertainment) and only the sleazy places will be put out of business. This will be hard for some dancers in the short term (dancers generally never like anything to change) but better in the long run because they will ultimately have more job security and will probably make more money in the higher end clubs.

That would be pretty radical, wouldn't it?

Would we object if they were not called SIN taxes?

What if they were plain old luxury taxes? Liquor, cigarettes, tittie bars... none of these things are strict necessities. Restaurants, parking garages, sports tickets (none of which tend to be particularly sinful)tend to have a little sumpin sumpin for Uncle Sam as well.

Objectification

I am not saying that I know what to believe. However, I think this stuff is interesting. Before you bash it, just take a look.

http://www.dianarussell.com/pornasviolence.html

I do know that what you see and do creates patterns of sexuality.

For instance, when I was assaulted a few times, though I feel disgust great enough to make me puke, my physical arousal became tied (and I would say warped and perverted) to those specific situations, and to my incredible sorrow, I have never enjoyed the same type of sexual pleasure as I did before.

Single exposures can change your fantasies, whether you like it or not, and absolute saturation can dull respect.

I actually have had many men, including high schoolers, confide in me, woefully, that they have become more violent and degreding towards women, and more specific about their desires due to pornography (and it's necessary for arrousal rise from "normal" pornography to more and more degrading)- and it's no secret that women's choices have become compromised.

Moreso, I know many, many women who have been raped, NONE of which reported the crime. People like to say that the rape rates would have gone up if rape become more socially acceptable in some way- however, girls feel this as much as men. Moreover, the attacker is more likely to be a man you know and respect. Finally, according to anecdotal evidence, women are submitting more to activities they feel repulsed by (but would never admit to).

To suggest the things that I am saying, entirely out of experience, is very unpopular. But there it is.

Personally, I think that it's a little sick to say that the mass consumption of women as sex objects isn't affecting our culture in a serious way, and ultimately harming women (if "only" psychologically). Ask your children. Ask a five year old. A ten year old. A fifteen year old. They see it more clearly, though childrnn often don't understand that the inustices they feel can be trusted, articulated or changed.