The 10 Happiest Countries Prostitution Link

My friend Jack is 78 years young. One of Jack's favorite instigated debates for many years has been the legalization of prostitution will stimulate the U.S. economy, save tax dollars wasted in the court system, and raise the public morale. Every time he brings up that last point I add that obviously some people's morals start at a point lower than others. The debate itself is meant to be a fictitious poking fun at people and logic.

Jack and The 10 happiest countries in the world factor
Jack doesn't have a computer but heard about the article published on Forbes.com. So Jack calls me up and asks "Can you find this article I am hearing about on the Internet. I want you to check something out for me. Of course it was the happiness article. I find it and he says, "Ok, now can you find out how many of those countries have either legalized prostitution or don't have laws against it. I want to see if I can prove a point here."

The astonishing results
I know how Jack presents his pseudo-argument. One or two on the list would elicit an "What does that tell you?" plus a "Don't you think the others others on that list would rate higher is they legalized prostitution?" That would have followed with "Do you think legalizing prostitution would have at least put the U.S. in the top fifteen if not the top 10?" So I investigate that list and this is what I could find listing the countries from least to the most happiest of the top ten:

Belgium: Which boast 28,000 prostitutes but has laws against sexual slavery has legalized prostitution

Norway: Prostitution is conducted as a free enterprise and is only illegal if organized by pimps.

New Zealand: Prostitution is considered a legal occupation

Switzerland: Definitely no posturing as a neutral country in this matter. The Swiss allows a woman to begin as a prostitution worker at the age of sixteen. Once again pimping and pimps are the are against the law as in Norway

Canada: Prostitution is legal but there can be no solicitation in public areas or on the streets

Ireland: My Irish Catholic mother just rolled over in her grave. The Irish considered by Forbes to be the the fifth happiest, does have legalized prostitution. It's no secret that Western European cultures view prostitution more liberally than we do in the U.S. The concerns are turned more toward regulating "prostitution in concerns of another person's gain." In plain English the pimp factor is becoming more recognized as a problem.

Now, when I saw the top four. I realized how ludicrous it was to even check but I did for the sake of journalistic value. It was a good thing I did.

Sweden: The first of the "Need I even ask?" countries was a surprise. Probably even a great example of how lawmakers can be blatantly hypocritical. The Swedish laws provide a nice twist on economic principles of supply and demand. Purchasing sex is illegal while providing a sexual service is legal. I don't know if that is an endorsement of "the free sex doctrine" or who are you trying to kid.

Netherlands: If you don't know about the internationally famous red light district you're leading a cloistered life. The fact is sex trafficking which is illegal is a serious problem. The government is experience a reverse predicament as to that of the U.S. The Netherlands are tied up over the true definition of legal prostitution and sex slavery. The legalese is more of the problem in putting into action effective laws aimed to protect woman.

Finland: This countries problems arise from how they enforce legalized prostitution. The restrictions are so convoluted and numerous, there is a why bother atmosphere lingering. The way the laws read each encounter needs to be overseen by personal sex inspector. If anything the situation seems to foster more of what exists in the U.S. I can almost visualize each encounter resembling an out of state speed trap encounter on the highway where the motorist drives away with a fist full of "inconvenient to disprove" citations. Clearly it is an engage at your own risk venture. It is also of note Finland is the only country to boast prostitution injury protection laws. It is apparent that in Finland they take their prostitution seriously.

Denmark: No surprise here at number one has always had a reputation of being a nation of happy people. It is also the number one "need you really ask?" country when it comes to prostitution. The answer is yes in case you do need the answer.

Ok Jack
You only think you won only part of this round. But I beyond the topic restriction of prostitution being legal in my research. Actually it wasn't hard to look a little deeper. Most of what I found offered a more balanced side of the question. Most of the countries on the list have some form of legalized prostitution also have have well documented problems with sex trafficking.

Jack has a point but...
The one well advertised upside is countries with legalized prostitution have an overall reported lower rate of HIV. To counter that Ethiopia is not even near the top ten list of happiest countries. This country has legalized prostitution and reports an adult prevalence rate of over 10%. That translates to one in ten. This puts a damper on the legalized prostitution deters HIV premise. If you gauge national happiness on availability of legalized prostitution at the cost of any person's freedom, that is unacceptable. Sex trafficking is a form of forced slavery. I didn't even have to search hard to find that most of the countries on the top ten list have problems associated to illegal sex trafficking. No matter how you look at it based on the Jack argument, the happiness point he makes comes with a price tag that compromises another individual's rights as a person. As for the savings of cost in the legal system, I only see a shifting of financial costs from one problem to another. I want to reiterate that Jack's argument is posed mainly in jest. Would you want that for yourself or your children? In doing the research the cumulative facts don't come across too funny at all.