Last month, The Huffington Post ran a funny item about the presumably unintentional effects of President Bush’s economic stimulus package: It stimulated the porn industry. The Adult Internet Market Research Company was only too happy to tout the, ahem, uptick via press release:
[M]any websites focused on adult or erotic material have experienced an upswing in sales in the recent weeks since checks have appeared in millions of Americans' mailboxes across the country.
According to Kirk Mishkin, Head Research Consultant for AIMRCo, "Many of the sites we surveyed have reported 20-30% growth in membership rates since mid-May when the checks were first sent out, and typically the summer is a slow period for this market."
Well, after a week of jury duty, I can attest to another unforeseen consequence of the economic stimulus package: buying drugs! The defendant in the case before me was accused of dealing PCP (which is apparently having a resurgence in our nation’s capital); the defense stipulated that the accused did indeed have a lot of PCP on him (several hundred dollars worth), but argued that it was for personal use and not to sell. The crux of the defense’s argument was that the defendant, who works as an auto mechanic, had just received his tax refund and stimulus check. Stunned by the amount of the check and thrilled with the influx of cash, the addicted defendant decided to splurge!
So it turns out that, while the economy writ large is still suffering, the porn and drug industries are thriving! Thanks Dubya!
--Sacha Zimmerman