I just watched the movie on Heidi Fleiss

[bluestateguy]

The movie is a USA made for TV movie starring Jamie Lynn Discala.

Putting aside the issue of her income tax evasion, which I'll get to in a moment, I am really at a loss as to what the "Hollywood Madam" did wrong.

She was a woman running a high-priced business that involved conseting sex between adults. And that's a crime because...? She was charged with "pandering". WTF is that? How many law enforcement resources in LA were used to investigate and prosecute this case? What benefit to society is served by putting her in jail?

Yes, she evaded her income taxes, and that must be punished (back then the US was not engaged in illegal wars), but I would argue that if prostitution was legalized and regulated by state and/or federal governments, more people in the business would be willing to report their earnings. Instead of wasting money on police investigations and prosecutions of consenting adults in the sex industry, government would earn millions more in tax revenue from madams, pimps and sex workers who would be free to report their earnings to the IRS like everyone else. Regulating the sex industry would save much more money over the long run than running a revolving door of criminal justice procedures.

[Tony_Illinois]

1. The same case could be made for currently illegal drug use,

but I don't see any changes in either situation coming any time soon.

[KG]

2. one would think that those 'free market' proponents would be

applauding the entreprenural spirit of prostitutes and drug dealers instead of making them outlaws. fuckin' hypocrites.