Opinion

Our view: Who'll want a bailout next?


Published: January 13, 2009

It may well have been a simple publicity stunt, but according to the Los Angeles Daily News, the adult entertainment industry is the latest to seek a bailout from the federal government.

In a recent article, the paper quoted Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Joe Francis of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series as saying they'd contacted Rep. Barney Frank, D-Newton, chairman of the influential House Committee on Financial Services, about the need for assistance — about $5 billion worth.

It was enough to get Morality in Media president Robert Peters to issue a release demanding that rather than giving the industry money, the federal government step up its effort to "vigorously enforce federal obscenity laws."

We hardly think they're serious. But Flynt and Francis' claims of declining magazine and video sales are easy to believe — and did get them a mention in media outlets ranging from NPR to The Huffington Post.

In fact, they may actually have done the country a service by pointing out that these bailouts — first the airlines, then Wall Street, now the auto industry — could become a very expensive practice with no limit as to who is asking for what.