That's not a true story [1], although you're not the first person I've heard it from. The sex industry was thriving well before the US government, or any other

That's not a true story [1], although you're not the first person I've heard it from. The sex industry was thriving well before the US government, or any other government around today, however. And it would be very hard to argue that the US government has ever been formally "involved" with the sex industry, except as a regulatory presence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hooker#Final_years_and_legacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hooker#Final_years_and_...