George S. May Business Blog

Does the adult Industry deserve a bailout

Larry Flint and Joe Francis, creator of Hustler and Girls Gone Wild, respectively, are teaming up to go to Congress. Why? Well, to ask for money, of course.

“We’re supposed to be a free market economy and now the government is nationalizing this economy” says Francis, “if they are going to bailout automotive why not porn?”

Essentially, whether you agree that the government should give the automakers money or not, it has been very apparent to the public eye that they are on the very verge of collapsing. But with 90% of web searches daily being devoted to adult material, I pose the question, is it really as hard times for hardcore as they claim?

Well, actually, kind of.

Pornography, a 13 billion dollar a year industry, is down a remarkable 15% in video sales and 17% in sales of publications!

So, while many will roll their eyes and call the notion ridiculous, I say: why not give them money?

If the numbers prove that the billion dollar industry is in a rapid decline, why wouldn’t it be eligible for a bailout? Francis continues: “[It's] raising a lot of questions as to why our government is bailing out certain industries and not others”.

Good point Joe. Really, what does makes them any different? In fact, Francis claims that the Adult Entertainment Industry actually employs more people than the auto industry does. I must wonder then, do some of these high up politicians have a vested interest in saving certain industries? Here is statistic that isn’t spoke of too often:

Twenty-five members of Congress have reported on their financial disclosure forms that they own stock or other capital interests in the Big Three automakers, based on data compiled from the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, DC research group that tracks money in US politics.

Hmmm…But, really how much do they have invested? Let us examine:

(Note – The information below on the Congressmen with holdings in Ford, General Motors and Chrysler comes from Congress’s 2007 financial disclosure forms, filed in May 2008, the most recent data available. Members of Congress are not required to report actual dollar sums, instead, they are allowed to report dollar ranges) source

General Motors

Source: Open Secrets, Center for Responsive Politics.

Ford

Source: Open Secrets, Center for Responsive Politics.

Chrysler LLC

It also should be noted that Rep. John Dingell’s wife is the executive director for public affairs for G.M. and a descendant of the Fisher brothers, who founded the company that became General Motors 100 years ago.

Now, am I saying that the investments on behalf of the Senators are the absolute reason that Congress has entertained the idea of an auto bailout? Not at all. But did it help to play a factor in the decision? You tell me.

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