Blog: More on Porn Tax
More Notes
OK, so I already wrote a whole blog on this 25% porn tax, but there are a few specifics I want to get into in greater detail. Please, shoot over your feedback. This is the kind of thing that we should all act on.
TV Report: Though it only got about 90 seconds on whatever network news I happened to be watching last night at 11, the porn tax story gave me two “what the fuck” moments. Two quick quotes that made me shake my head. The first came from Shelly Lubben who said Marijuana and meth and you name it they’ll give it to you.”. That had me hitting pause button on the DVR to let it sink in. To hear Shelly tell it, every porn set in the Valley is just a drug store waiting to hook poor girls on pot or crystal meth at the drop of a hat. I’ve been on a number of sets and have not found that to be the case at all. It has been a long time since I’ve shot anything, but I can tell you that none of that went on when I was shooting. So Shelly is exaggerating greatly to make her point. Seconds later Mark Kernes gave me my second WTF moment. He said that drugs were not allowed on sets. Come on. “Not allowed” on sets? Really? That’s your position? I’m sorry Mark, but that doozie may qualify you for that “Lying Cocksucker Brigade” list you published a few days ago. Just as it is not OK for Shelly to make it sound like every set is a Snoop Dogg party waiting to happen, you can’t possibly say that there aren’t drugs on porn sets. Watch BTS on JM production movies and you’ll see plenty. Read Gene Ross’ site for stories of drugs being flushed down the toilet only after the police arrived. I don’t really want to bash too hard on Mark for this, but lying to bolster one side of the argument is no better than someone lying to bolster the other. Are there drugs on porn sets? YES. Do some producers/directors kick people off of the set for bringing drugs, YES. Do all of them follow this policy…(class?) NO!. Do some producers/directors supply the talent with the drugs on the set? Since I have never seen it happen and only have a few hundred stated cases on my side, I’ll say….I don’t know for sure. But I do know this both Shelly and Mark were seriously padding if not downright lying to prove their point. More on this…later.
Eye Candy: Let’s take a break from that and enjoy Halia and Priscilla showing off their lovely boobs on BabyGotBoobs.com
Selective Taxation: The porn tax is about a lot more than just selective taxation, but let’s deal with strictly from that standpoint. I oppose Calderon’s porn tax for several reasons, but this is a big one. I am opposed to selective taxations in general and often find myself at odds with people in this industry on this one. Here is where the strange bedfellows come in. The social conservatives who would normally attack porn on a moral basis are actually coming to bat for the industry in this case. Why? Because they believe (along with fiscal conservatives and most libertarian-leaning folk) that selective taxation is wrong. How do you single out a specific type of business for taxation? Sure they do it with gas, alcohol and tobacco. They do it with guns, big cars (in the form of higher registration fees) and boats, but a line must be drawn somewhere. (And I oppose the taxes listed above for countless reasons.) Why should adult entertainment be taxed an additional 25%? How is going to a strip club different from going to a night club? Or to see the ballet? How is rending or buying Asian Slut Invasion any different than renting or buying ET? We can break down these arguments later, but let’s lay this foundation. Selective taxation to fun a special program (As the California Assembly tried in the 90’s) or to fill a mounting general deficit as is being tried now is wrong. It’s bad policy, it’s intellectually unsound and it opens the door for other selective taxes. (More on THAT later). Ironically enough, a conservative court is more likely to shoot down Calderon’s folly based on the idea that selective taxation is wrong.
