Ethical for Tampa Bay Male Prostitutes To Raise Prices?

[pimpdave]

With the town about to be flooded with closeted Republicans next week, there is the possibility that the local male prostitutes will over charge for their services. Is this simply a supply and demand situation, or will they be gouging the Republicans unfairly? Let's discuss.

[Timminz]

I suspect that the smart ones already raise their prices when they suspect their client is rich and from out of town. Thus, those ones will be raising their prices.

[BigBallinStalin]

In the short-run, aggregate prices of goods offered by male prostitutes would increase from an increase in demand--given a fixed supply; however, as the profit margin increases, marginally more entrepreneurial male prostitutes will enter the market (increase in supply), thus driving down the price.

If these entrepreneurs are savvy enough, they could anticipate the increased demand, thus creating the possibility that the prices of the goods offered by male prostitutes would hardly change at all. Of course, this depends on the efficiency of the male prostitute market and where exactly the new market would clear.

The prohibition of prostitution will render this market less efficient. If male prostitutes had a lobby, they might be able to indirectly implement more favorable legislation.


If we could break down the commodity characteristics of the goods offered by male prostitutes into distinct groups (God Tier, Top Tier, Meh Tier, and Marx Tier), we could more accurately analyze the historical data of the price changes which would usefully contribute to the economic literature on male prostitution.

[pimpdave]

Interesting point about the entrepreneurs, BigBallinStalin, but the RNC is only three days. Although there has certainly already been an influx of closeted Republicans to Tampa Bay (it's a safe bet, considering there are so many of them in the party) in order to prepare for the convention, the biggest proportion won't be arriving for a few more days.

And once the convention is over, the vast majority of closeted Republicans will be leaving Tampa Bay. My question is, could such an entrepreneurial male prostitute really effect much change in the market with such a small window? Or would he need more time to compete against a market that's raised the price of handjobs temporarily?

[thegreekdog]

Question: Why would someone need to purchase a handie from a male prostitute? Based on my understanding of certain prior activities of certain Republicans, bathroom stalls in airports are potential areas to receive handies. So... are we assuming these folks are going to pay for it when they can get it for free? BBS's analysis completely ignores this factor and therefore I remain disappointed.

[BigBallinStalin]

Interesting point about the entrepreneurs, BigBallinStalin, but the RNC is only three days. Although there has certainly already been an influx of closeted Republicans to Tampa Bay (it's a safe bet, considering there are so many of them in the party) in order to prepare for the convention, the biggest proportion won't be arriving for a few more days.

And once the convention is over, the vast majority of closeted Republicans will be leaving Tampa Bay. My question is, could such an entrepreneurial male prostitute really effect much change in the market with such a small window? Or would he need more time to compete against a market that's raised the price of handjobs temporarily?

Great questions, pimpdave!

With a such a small window to fill, I imagine that the entrepreneurial male prostitute (EMP) could still quickly accommodate previously unexpected demand due to their means of communication and extremely low transaction costs.

Although word-of-mouth could resolve much uncertainty, the inefficiency problem remains from the government prohibition. Suppose there was a website for EMPs to offer their bids. Any closeted Republican could easily get his fill through such means, thus resolving most of the entrepreneurs' problems. It could be the case that such a website exists, but I'm not aware of it. I'd recommend asking the closeted Republicans in your physical and cyber vicinity for more details.

Furthermore, the mobility of male prostitute capital incurs extremely low transactions costs. All one needs is their own self and maybe a suitcase of toys. Transaction costs could even be lower if the closeted Republicans brought their own toys, and this question is easily resolved via phone, email, or verbally. Access to car may be the biggest transaction cost, but I must conclude that even with a few days, the EMPs are highly likely to still have time on their side.


Or would he need more time to compete against a market that's raised the price of handjobs temporarily?

Based on the above, I'm not convinced that the narrow time constraints would present much of an obstacle.

I'm not knowledgeable of the vast array of goods offered by EMPs, but I imagine the price of handjobs is not the only relevant factor here. Again, you might want to consult with a few closeted Republicans nearby.

[Neoteny]

I feel that none of you have considered the economic implications of YOUR MOMS.

[BigBallinStalin]

Question: Why would someone need to purchase a handie from a male prostitute? Based on my understanding of certain prior activities of certain Republicans, bathroom stalls in airports are potential areas to receive handies. So... are we assuming these folks are going to pay for it when they can get it for free? BBS's analysis completely ignores this factor and therefore I remain disappointed.

For the sake of brevity, I may have missed these important concerns of yours, TGD, and for that I do apologize, but understandably you'd forgive me.

Although free handies in the airport could be a source of competition for EMPs outside of the airport, free handies do incur transaction costs and are a completely different type of service. First, a handie at the airport stall is not "free" because of the opportunity cost incurred from receiving a "free" handie. The closeted Republican could be receiving a better handie elsewhere for a price that's worth it--or he could be doing something completely different, yet not as valuable.

Second, there's risk involved. Assume the handie is provided through a glory hole. "Who's on the other side? Will he or she bite my dick off?" These are legitimate concerns of the closeted Republican and must be considered as a cost for the "free" handie.

Finally, an airport handie offers only so much satisfaction; whereas, (I assume) EMP services would offer much more, and this is crucial to realizing the negligible impact of airport handies on the male prostitute market.

Therefore, based on the real price of "free" handies, it seems that the market of male prostitutes may not be affected due to the inferior nature of airport handies.

[BigBallinStalin]

I feel that none of you have considered the economic implications of YOUR MOMS.

This is completely off-topic. Closeted Republicans are not simply interested in YOUR MOMS; therefore, I fail to see the relevance of your post.

This is a serious topic, and the CC community would appreciate it if you showed a little more respect about our concerns regarding the EMP market and closeted Republicans in Tampa.

[saxitoxin]

BBS, is it a rational act for a straight Republican delegate to defer to the companionship of a man during the convention so as to lessen the possibility of date rape, as in the sad case of delegate Gabriel Schwartz?

[thegreekdog]

Question: Why would someone need to purchase a handie from a male prostitute? Based on my understanding of certain prior activities of certain Republicans, bathroom stalls in airports are potential areas to receive handies. So... are we assuming these folks are going to pay for it when they can get it for free? BBS's analysis completely ignores this factor and therefore I remain disappointed.

For the sake of brevity, I may have missed these important concerns of yours, TGD, and for that I do apologize, but understandably you'd forgive me.

Although free handies in the airport could be a source of competition for EMPs outside of the airport, free handies do incur transaction costs and are a completely different type of service. First, a handie at the airport stall is not "free" because of the opportunity cost incurred from receiving a "free" handie. The closeted Republican could be receiving a better handie elsewhere for a price that's worth it--or he could be doing something completely different, yet not as valuable.

Second, there's risk involved. Assume the handie is provided through a glory hole. "Who's on the other side? Will he or she bite my dick off?" These are legitimate concerns of the closeted Republican and must be considered as a cost for the "free" handie.

Finally, an airport handie offers only so much satisfaction; whereas, (I assume) EMP services would offer much more, and this is crucial to realizing the negligible impact of airport handies on the male prostitute market.

Therefore, based on the real price of "free" handies, it seems that the market of male prostitutes may not be affected due to the inferior nature of airport handies.

I was thinking about the opportunity cost vis-a-vis undercover police officers in bathroom stalls; but I think that opportunity cost applies whether or not one pays for the handie.

[BigBallinStalin]

The risk of being caught by the authorities is a cost which reduces the value of receiving an airport handie.

The opportunity cost is the foregone value of your second most valuable choice, which could be getting ice cream, leaving the airport 5 minutes earlier, etc.



I'm just sayin' there ain't no such thing as a free handie.

[BigBallinStalin]

BBS, is it a rational act for a straight Republican delegate to defer to the companionship of a man during the convention so as to lessen the possibility of date rape, as in the sad case of delegate Gabriel Schwartz?

It depends on whether or not that date was legitimate rape or illegitimate rape. You'll have to consult the (non)closeted Republicans on that one.


If you analyze your scenario using aggregates, then that strategy would appear to lower the chances of date rapes, but on an individual level, that type of analysis would not be relevant.

Suppose you were a straight Republican. You'd have to argue that your decision to enjoy a Man of the Night would somehow affect the decision-making of Republicans who are already inclined to date rape.