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Porn Industry Seeks A Federal Bailout – A Canary in the Economic Coalmine
Hustler’s Larry Flint
global trends: industry upheavals
CANARIES GALORE
We all know the story of the coal miners who would take a canary in a cage with them as they entered mine shafts. If the canary died, it indicated oxygen depletion and acted as a warning to the miners to move quickly to avoid their own deaths.
The livelihoods of real people and their families are at stake with every loss of a job, but if watch the big picture, we see interesting changes.
The adult sex industry has been the bulwark of Internet revenue and growth since nearly the beginning. Now CNN reports that the porn industry is asking for a handout.
“Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.”
FORGET YOUR RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL PERSUASIONS FOR A MOMENT…
Yes, you legitimately ask, “Where’s my bailout?!!”
But what a perfect foil against which to discuss the real changes occurring before our eyes.
An industry that is contentious grows within a society – tobacco, armaments, alcohol, etc. Through the market, society supports it. It is a reflection of the level of consciousness of the nation or the world. It provides lots of jobs and businesses make a lot of money.
Some people think the industry in question is not life supporting, but it becomes strong and entrenched. It plays its political cards well and governments support it.
Its opponents fight it. They raise millions to defeat it. They advertise, they lobby, they fail.
THEN THE UNIVERSE MOVES
This does not imply that any business that needs support during a crisis is involved in questionable or contentious activities. But to witness the porn industry’s revenues suddenly dry up enough to bring it to its knees in front of politicians and media is revealing.
The public request for subsidies from any industry indicate an underlying failure.
The wonderful edifice created by the financial industry had convinced most everyone – the populace, pundits, academics and politicians – that the financial industry is too big to be allowed to fail. Similarly, many large corporations have grown through effective capturing of monopolies, manipulation of legislation, etc. Yet our national and global focus has been on them, not on small to medium businesses.
WHAT ARE THE CANARIES TO WATCH?
There are so many. Come back at noon (Eastern time) today, and we’ll chat about the first group, alternate government taxes and their revenue trends. Then at 5 pm Eastern, we’ll focus on debt and money, before sharing some of our projections for the big picture – where things are headed.
And very quickly, we’ll focus on specific opportunities for you and your organization. Times of change are usually the consultant’s nirvana, because change means opportunity. You can expect more opportunities than you can dream of.
Be ready.
David VanAmburg
Tags: adult sex industry, casinos, economic crisis, Economy, gaming revenues, lottery, porn industry, sin taxes
January 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Interesting observations David. I understand you can add Hugh Hefner and Playboy to the list of canaries of "failing porn". Do we have a demographic, as well as a consciousness shift, happening here? Look forward to your posts today…there is always opportunity in downturn economies – and we are all looking for where they will appear!
January 19th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Judy, one of the pleasures of conversations with you, Greg, and others is the identification of opportunities that always emerges in our talks. I look forward to being able to make them available to all of our readers.