It's Hard Out There For A Pimp

Alert – Congress has taken action!

After watching them flounder on Iraq, Iran, North Korea, immigration, global warming, healthcare, AIDS, education, trade issues, energy policy, aid to the poor, tax reform, tort reform and nearly countless other fairly important issues, the United States Senate has stepped up to the firing line and targeted its howitzers on pimps! This time it didn’t fire blanks as it did on flag burning and gay marriage; this time it nailed its target right where it hurts – in their Form 1040! On Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill sponsored by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, authorizing at least $2 million to establish an IRS criminal investigation unit to prosecute unlawful sex workers who violate the tax laws.

Apparently, when the senators saw “It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp” win the Academy Award for best song, they sniffed, “Oh, yeah; well we can make it a lot harder out there!” and took this righteously decisive action. After all, “hustle and flow” pretty well describes the action-oriented U.S. Congress.

Grassley pointed to the use of the tax code to finally snare Al Capone, the gangster extraordinaire. While I find that a less than compelling comparison, as the sponsor of this bill he had to hang it on some hook. At least he didn’t try to tie it to al-Qaeda or Saddam Hussein or claim that pimps are cultural WMDs. Sensing that his arguments weren’t persuading the skeptics, Grassley decided to shift to hyperbole, which is always an indication that there’s nothing else to say. "It's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers," Grassley said. I have to agree. No brains appear to have been involved. But then, as the saying goes, those guys on the Hill don’t think with their brains.

Let me be clear: any number of things connected with sex trafficking should be considered criminal and anything that involves underage girls or boys in the sex trade should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Similarly, kidnapping, forced labor or any violent behavior should be prosecuted under existing criminal laws. But, deciding to jail some dumb-ass pimp for failing to provide a W-2 or a Form 1099 to his adult prostitutes, or jail under-dressed and over-made-up ladies of the night for failing to file a tax return, is an indication that the Senate has simply lost the will and the ability to attend to the most meaningful issues facing the country (see the first paragraph above).

Someday, in the next millennium perhaps, I hope that this tax problem has become public issue number one and that all the other more important challenges have been overcome. When that day comes, we will all be much more willing to have our leaders take actions that require no brains.