Big Picture #2 : Parenthood and Prostitutes

For most of human history, almost everyone died very young.  This is no longer the case in 1st World countries and I believe we should adjust some things accordingly.  There are 2 key reasons to do this.

(1) Children should be born to parents who are ready for them.

(2) We can better compete in this new global economy if we limit our population to a reasonable level.  There are so many people in the U.S. but there is only so much work that needs to be done.  An excessively large population can weigh a country and its economy down.        

The U.S. should limit the number of kids someone can legally produce to 3 or 4.  We can crunch the data and see what is truly the best number.  Several months ago I was reading a newspaper article (in an actual, physical newspaper, if you can believe it) and this woman was talking about a new, higher tax rate on cigarettes that had just recently been approved in her city.  She was glad that these new tax dollars would go to the city's public schools.  Further along in the article, it was revealed that this woman was an unemployed hairdresser with 9 children.

Nine.  Kids.

And no job. 

This is a problem.
 
It would be great if there was a super basic test you had to pass to qualify to be a parent.  The test would attempt to figure out if you can actually support the kids you plan on having.  And by support I mean both financially and emotionally.  The test would also seek to weed out the 1% of people who are maniacs.  In this regard, the test would seek to answer the question: "Are you going to get these kids killed?"

You can't legally buy alcohol until you're 21.  You can't join the military until you're 18.  You can't buy tobacco until you're 18 and some places around the U.S. are aiming to raise that age to 21.  You have to pass at least 2 tests before they'll give you a license to drive a car and you need a special license to drive a commercial truck.  A shop in the mall once asked me for photo I.D. when I bought a shirt with a credit card.

Meanwhile, any male + female pair past puberty can have sex and produce a kid whether they are ready to actually raise that kid or not.

Now, I realize it may seem impossible to regulate biology, but when I think about the kids who are born to tragically unfit parents, I feel compelled to find a better way.  I don't want kids growing up with parents who don't want them.  Those people kind of tend to do a shitty job.  Foster care and social services do not have the resources to make sure all the "at risk" kids are safe, and in fact, they can't even come close to handling that caseload.  You can read all about those horror stories in any major city newspaper.

The legalization of prostitution could go a long way towards helping this cause.  Ok now I know that might sound heinous to some people, but hear me out.  Leave our Puritan roots in the past where they belong and consider this:

Right now, a certain amount of money and time is spent fighting prostitution as we know it.  It's probably millions and millions of dollars a year across the country.  This is a fight that law enforcement will never fully win.  How Hyper Modern. 

Prostitution as we know it is this: Some horrible scum bag person holds people (usually women) captive and forces them to perform an incredibly high number of sex acts under the threat of bodily harm.  The pimp keeps the money. 

This is atrocious.  This is a crime against humanity.

Now, here's the thing.  If we were to legalize and regulate and tax prostitution in the U.S., the stereotypical pimp would be out of business.  We'd run the bad guys out of business by offering a much better alternative.  
The dark, grimy, horrible version of prostitution would decline dramatically and maybe even cease to exist, because there would be a much better way.  There would be medical screening, and security guards, and background checks.

If a person can go to a safe, clean, well lit building and pay money to have sex with a willing, full grown adult who can stipulate the parameters of the interaction... then I don't think too many people would go back to the dark side version. 

The prostitutes, whether they are women or men, would be independent contractors.  They could even form a union to strengthen their position in the marketplace.  Certain people have incredibly high sex drives and feel comfortable having sex with a lot of different people.  They should have a way to profit from their talent without having to enter the meat grinder that is the porn industry.  I can call myself a pornographer and pay 2 people to have sex with each other, on camera, and that's legal, but if I pay 1 person to have sex with me in private, that is illegal.  Huh?

A new government body could be created to regulate this new, legalized industry.  Anyone who chose to pursue this job would be doing so of their own free will and would set their own boundaries, and now, at least some of those people who would have produced a child they weren't ready for would instead be clients for these prostitutes and they would get their rocks off in a safer way.  At the same time, they would be supporting the economy.  Imagine the tax dollars that would flow from this industry.  Demand would never wane.  "Sex sells" they always tell me.  There'd be a new wing on every public school.   

Maybe this wouldn't last.

Maybe it wouldn't work out.

But it probably would.

It's a huge, untapped economic opportunity and it's worth thinking about.  The economy is far from humming, but we still have all these rules that continue to stifle it.  I also want to be able to walk into the supermarket and bet money on sporting events while we're at it.  As it is, a person can only legally access the full sports betting menu while they're in Las Vegas. 

Even if I could wave a magic wand, and turn every single person in the U.S. into the most perfect, desirable job candidates... it wouldn't be enough because there aren't enough good jobs for people who are already qualified now.

It doesn't matter how great of a news anchor I would be, because someone is already in that seat and will be there for the next several decades.  It doesn't necessarily matter if I'm an amazing architect with vision, because look at all these buildings that already exist.  Will our economy someday be nothing more than watching each other's YouTube channels?  Because there's nothing else left to be done?   

The American ideal is that hard work equals better results.  I'd like this ideal to get closer to being true again.   
We have to address our skyrocketing population.  As of right now there's literally no plan in place.