The government should subsidize prostitution

Thanks for the lengthy response. I will address the points and point out where you are mistaken.In response to Con's opening paragraph, I do not believe that I misunderstood anything in the sources Con provided, and do not object to Con provding them. My objection was based on the fact that Con did not provide arguments and cite these sources but instead just posted them which didin't give me much to respond to. I would be very interested to know how I took that quote out of context. What I quoted was claiming that pimps still ran the prostitution industry because the barriers to entry were too high for individual prostitutes to get in themselves. This is clearly the product of the law in Australia, not prostitution in general. If Con believes this to be taking the quote out of context, what is the additional context?Encourages Innovation and ProgressSex is a basic need. Humans are compelled to do two things above all else, survive and procreate. While many humans do not actually want to procreate, the need to engage in the act is still very much present. This is true even of homosexuals. Even if the sex has no chance of creating offspring, there is a basic human need to engage in the act. The psychologist Abraham Maslow showed in the Hierarchy of Needs, the most basic human needs are breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, and excretion. In the article Con links to, none of those regrets have to do with basic needs. No one said "I wish I ate more food" or "I wish I breathed more air." People don't regret not having their basic needs met. They regret all the stuff they didn't get done because they were too busy getting their basic needs met. If companionship were sufficient, why must the companion be of the gender the person is sexually interested in? Clearly Con's case doesn't hold water.Reduce DepressionWhile I agree with Con that depression can lead to lack of sex drive, Con's contention that lack of sex only leads to depression in sex addicts is absurd. Since sex is a basic human need, being unable to have sex leads to feelings of worthlessness, anxiety, and depression. These are symptoms also seen in people who are unable to get other basic needs met like people who are homeless or unable to provide food for themselves or their families. Con's claim that prostitution is not the only way out is irrelevant since I never claimed that it was the only way out. However, other ways out involve considerably more time and effort; time and effort that could be put toward more productive things than looking for sex.Reduce Sexual AssaultOnce again Con is quoting from sources that study incomplete legalization and assume that the problems will persist if complete legalization were implemented. Con also quotes a study saying that women are more likely to be raped in Las Vegas than New York which is irrelevant since prostitution is not legal in either of those places. Con is also cherry picking the data. No mention of The Netherlands where rape rates are significantly lower than in the US.Reduce UnemploymentCon states that hardly anyone becomes a sex worker by choice which is completely false. I question what Con means by "by choice." Hardly any sex workers are slaves. Therefore, they are in the business by choice. If Con believes that any job should be outlawed that people rarely take if they have other options, Con would have to be in favor of banning janitorial services, farm work, fast food employment, and a whole bunch of other things. Indeed society would shut down if people were not allowed to do work they didn't like. I also fail to see how the number of sex workers who desired to join a union has any bearing on whether or not it is legitimate employment. Sex work is a career option and is legitimate work.People sell the use of their bodies all the time legally. Farm workers sell the use of their bodies to harvest crops. factory workers sell the use of their bodies to assemble products. Prostitution is no different.