Larry Flynt Wants Government Bailout...
How's this for a money shot? Reeling from the success of the free Internet porn business, the adult entertainment industry should get a $5 billion piece of the government's $700 billion bailout fund, says Joe Francis, chief executive officer of the production company that produces the popular "Girls Gone Wild" video series.
He's sending letters to California congressman Henry Waxman (his local representative), Massachusetts' Barney Frank (the head of the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee) and the U.S. Treasury Department asking for assistance. His argument: the last thing California needs is another economic crisis to hit when it is trying to climb out of the real estate crash. The porn industry calls the San Fernando Valley its home.
Representatives for Waxman and Frank weren't picking up their phones.
The move is obviously a publicity stunt intended to coincide with the industry's conference in Las Vegas this week, but Francis, who is making the requests along with Hustler's Larry Flynt, wouldn't be the first non-banker to attempt to access the funds.
The mayors of Atlanta, Philadelphia and Phoenix asked the Treasury in November to earmark $50 billion of the funds to support infrastructure projects and boost local economies that have been hit hard by the financial crisis. A school district in Ohio also applied for the program.
Some companies became bank holding companies to qualify. The porn industry doesn't plan to attempt that, Francis says, though it views itself as vital to the health of the U.S. economy.
"We will use this money well," Francis said Wednesday. "We'll create more jobs."
http://www.forbes.com/business/2009/..._0107porn.html
Crazy stuff, think this is going to make the adult industry look good or bad overall?
Regards,
Lee
