The National Scene

The Madam returned a hero. Who knows why the public suddenly acclaims a humble person and raises, at least momentarily, a single individual to unprecedented heights of attention? It's not only due to television, for there were Lindbergh, Dempsey, and many others even before radio. It is not merely public relations techniques, for often there has been no attempt made to secure public attention. No one can predict what personal characteristics and timing will cause a spontaneous outburst of public interest.

Madam's girls had watched the local TV coverage with interest, for she was very popular with all her girls. When Regina returned late, soon to be followed by some of the committee members, the national news was occupying the screen. With remarkable speed the networks had picked up the local coverage and were using it as their closing piece of nightly humor. The girls were all thrilled.

The weekend was interrupted by frequent telephone calls and network TV cameras preparing features for the Monday news. It was becoming evident that the Sex Tax would be a popular national subject. By Monday night Madam was known to eighty million Americans. The Chamber of Commerce was making plans to include her "house" in their tourist brochure. The police were a little concerned about the publicity, but in the absence of church protest did nothing except ponder whether her protection payoff could be increased.

More important than the individual response to Madam was the response of national political party leaders to the sex tax idea. Here was an event of congressional importance, a bombshell. There was unanimous agreement that the Sex Tax should not be left a local issue. Of course the majority party was still in doubt as to its stand upon the issue-they would await the polls to see which way their principles should guide them--but there was no doubt the Sex Tax was a commanding issue.

The national leaders of the minority party, now recognizing their new political star, convened to decide how to handle John Smith. This was both an advantageous and a disadvantageous position. They would receive credit for initiating the Sex Tax concept, but, as a minority, how could they make use of this stroke of genius? The minority leaders were forced to wait and see the stance of the majority party.

Fate intervened, as it so often does in man's affairs. The majority party, in a politically creditable move, decided to preempt the new taxation idea and make it its own. On a federal level they expected to introduce legislation to tax bedroom activities. But, while the majority party was preparing its plans, the congressman from Smith's state was killed in a plane crash. One of those rare and untimely events in history.

The minority party governor, acting with remarkable speed, appointed Representative John Smith to Congress for the duration of the deceased's term.

Now the minority party was one up on the majority party, for the majority party would either have to accept or fight Sex Tax legislation proposed in Congress by John Smith. Every facility of the congressional minority party was now put at John Smith's disposal. He arrived not as a freshman congressman but as a national figure. From the PTA to Congress in one season; it was worthy of a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

The majority party was now in a real bind. They didn't dare oppose the Sex Tax. Recent polls had just confirmed its popularity. Economists now attested to the potential taxing power, and there seemed to be no large social groups protesting its adoption. This in itself was unique.

In recent years there had been nothing proposed that didn't have ardent opposition. Indeed, it was considered a national (political) law that every action has an equal but opposite reaction cum Newton. Here was the exception that proves the rule. It appeared that everyone was for the Sex Tax.

When the local churchmen appeared before the state legislature committee, they had national instruction from their supreme leaders. In one church the matter had even been referred to international headquarters. The local church position was also the national and international position. By the time the Sex Tax became a national matter the churches had taken an irrevocable position.

Perhaps the church's position was not the key to the popularity of the Sex Tax concept, but the lack of church opposition greatly aided the spread of the popular acceptance. The church had long been known to be on the side of the Mafia and bootleggers, because it always made common cause with them to outlaw whiskey and gambling, which then made these illegitimate activities a Mafia monopoly. By declining to oppose the Sex Tax the church was now striking a death blow to Mafia activities financed by prostitution. The Mafia was to learn subsequently that its gambling profits would also suffer a fatal decline.

Even before John Smith's bill was heard in committee, the national popular debate began. The first to be heard were the comedians. The late evening shows made frequent references to the Sex Tax. Such interesting material for political comment raised the audience level. Though at first the shift in audience level detected by Nielsen caused the network vice-presidents to consider shifting prime time shows to the later hours, this would have been a great mistake. When the Sex Tax finally became law, people deserted late-hour TV for the bedroom. What had once been a candidate for prime time became the predicted vast wasteland of TV.

The multifarious causes, scrambling for public attention, considered their stands on the Sex Tax and almost without exception came down on the favorable side. Their considerations reflected not so much principle but considerations of where political strength and organizational gains might lie. The uninitiated might think that unpopular stands reflected honest adherence to political principle. Such naïveté! The various causes were merely responding to what they considered their own best interest."

Sometimes there is political capital to be gained by opposing a public stand. Sometimes the "cause" position reflects only the ego demands of its leaders. Many other times a popular position is taken in an effort to refurbish the cause treasury. There is no way to predict the stand a "cause" group will take on peripheral matters.

Women's Lib was sorely tried. Should it accept the advantages that women were not to be taxed or should their equal-rights wing demand equal taxation? Were women denigrated by being the objects of taxation or should they regard that as an honor?

The Jewish community saw an advantage for the Arabs in taxing the man only. Why should a man with a harem pay only a single tax? This seemed theologically indecent. How could they influence Congress to make the Arabs pay more?

Labor unions saw an advantage to the concept, the chance to negotiate for loss of consortium rights for the night shift. They came down heavily on the side of sex taxation.

The railroad users association saw a rebirth of Pullman travel and were in favor of the tax. The airlines also saw an advantage and planned advertising that stressed "be home tonight after a hard day of business."

The National Association of Manufacturers saw potential in a satisfied work force and were for the Sex Tax. In this they were prescient, more so than perhaps any other organization, as we shall see.

The author is rather reluctant to mention the obvious, the stock market response. But, perhaps the collective self-aggrandizing interests are important in this discussion. Stock of obvious beneficiaries advanced immediately. Champagne makers, silk and satin sheets, contraceptive manufacturers and many others perceived benefits and rose, but the overall effect on American industry to come was completely missed and, as we shall see later, dominated the social scene.

Educators responded vigorously, anticipating changes in sex education courses. They planned to institute courses in "Your Responsibilities as a Taxpayer," with appropriate education budget increases.

The environmentalists had a tougher row to hoe. Here was a back-to-nature issue if there ever was one, but they had to oppose it. Human nature was not their bailiwick. They were for nature, but human nature was a little outside their sphere. They were well aware that, if man became intrigued with the bedroom and spent his leisure time there, the natural and ecological projects they planned would lose support. But the environmentalists also sensed that opposition to such a national interest would in the long run leave them in a "decadent" position, so they decided to ride out the storm. Someday man would give up bedroom activities and return to the glories of nature, they fantasized, and so they meekly took their stand for sex taxation.

The sex and pornography world was adamantly opposed to sex taxation. The fact that the liaisons they encouraged were tax-free was not significant. Once the population became booked on marital sex they would lose their market. With a tax advantage, the little woman had all she needed to keep him in thrall. The sex shops had a lot to lose, and they knew it. Their future was the grimmest of the lot. Where could they go for profits if gambling, sex, and booze were preempted? Was there another human vice that had not yet been exploited? They didn't know. Nor does the author!

The more conventional social organizations, confident that they performed a social need of great and continuing presence, were not involved and really did not seriously consider the issue, They were confident that, whatever the taxation structure, they would perform their mission. In this they were most correct. The youth organizations were similarly of a single mind and did not present public positions. Adolescent organizations were generally not involved. Tax or not, youth will be served.

Mental health organizations were hopeful that the pending legislation would provide benefit to their problems. They felt that, although drugs were helpful, a stable, sex-oriented society, where marriage and its pleasures of the bedroom were preeminent, would solve a lot of their problems. Just as Freud had shown the importance of sex in life, the importance of sex in economics (taxation) would cause a revolution in society. The mental health organizations, in proportion to their devotion to Freud, were cognizant of the importance of the Sex Tax.

The author is aware that all the social forces that were involved in the Sex Tax considerations cannot be mentioned, nor their roles described. Suffice it to say that in general all lent support. Never had there been a political proposal with so much and so nearly unanimous backing.