Porn and marijuana, together with illegal labor, have built a hidden market which makes for up to ten percent of the U.S. economy, the London Guardian reported May 2.
The paper said hardcore porn is now equal in revenue to Hollywood's U.S. box office take, with the annual rental figures up to $759 million in 2001 from $79 million in 1985 - and climbing. "Hardcore pornography in the shape of videos, the Internet, live sex acts, and cable television, is now estimated to generate around $10 billion," the paper said, suggesting Americans spend more at the strip club than on Broadway or regional theaters and orchestra performances combined.
That's some jump for an industry that was said to be worth a mere $10 million in the 1970s, the Guardian said.
"Now the US leads the world in pornography; about 211 new films are produced every week," the paper continued."Los Angeles area is the centre of the film boom and many of those in the trade are otherwise respectable citizens."
So says Eric Schlosser, who has written Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labour in the American Black Market. "You'd be surprised," said adult film legend Nina Hartley to Schlosser, "how many producers and manufacturers are Republicans."
