If you look at the history of call girls you will find that despite what is happening with the economy there has always been companionship/sex offered for sale at various price levels made to fit different needs.I hope that does not change, but with the economy being so iffy these days it is a good reminder to all of us to continue saving our money for possibly unstable times.
Originally Posted by Becky
That's an important and valuable point.
The problem with using standard economic analysis on this sort of thing is that standard economic analysis assumes a fungible commodity and a buyer who is perfectly aware of his enlightened self-interest, and interprets his self interest in purely economic terms.
This breaks down in every dimension. The providers I've seen are far from fungible commodities. They are very unique, with something unique to offer. I can't imagine willy-nilly replacing a lady I see at $X with an unknown lady at $X-50. This is without regard to price point.
This is a realm also in which economic terms are not generally the terms in which the buyer measures his self-interest. After all, it is an entirely optional purchase and arguably in most cases, economically speaking, the buyer is better off making no purchase at all. And when you add risks to it, if buyers were purely rational actors balancing cost and benefit economically, the hobby wouldn't exist.
Therefore, buyer behavior is motivated more by the aspects of humanity that can't be referenced to purely economic beings. There are intangibles, emotions, drives, etc.
When you combine the non-fungibility of providers with buyers who do not act in their economic self-interest; standard models of economic prediction break down.
So I'm with you on that, Becky!
Where I think the HDH market is at risk is in a factor outside of these. Specifically, I believe the number of males who have the economic capacity to spend more for an hour of a woman's time than the average man earns in a week is poised to decline for a variety of reasons.
If I were an HDH I'd be doing just like you -- taking care of my regulars and saving for a rainy day!
Oh ... and keeping Ed in good trim for hunting squirrels! :-)