[continued from newsletter]

Proceeds from procedures like facelifts and teeth-whitening would have generated $5 billion over the next 10 years, where the estimate for skin-frying will only be $2.7 billion.  Industry spokespeople say it is a tax against women, because they make up 75% of the consumers who use tanning beds.  The same argument was used against the Bo-tax.  They also argue that their industry is mostly small businesses already struggling in this self-sacrificing economy.  True; we’ll give them that point.

But here’s a big difference:  The World Health Organization recently “upgraded” tanning beds to a “Group 1 carcinogenic” category.  In terms of how your health is affected, that puts using tanning bulbs in the same category as smoking cigarettes or exposure to asbestos.  Scientists around the world are alarmed about the dramatic increase in skin cancer in young women, and research for WHO points to tanning salons.  WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reported, “the risk of skin melanoma is increased by 75 percent when use of tanning devices starts before 30 years of age.”

So, taxing procedures that ruin the skin and kill us, is really better than taxing procedures that make us look and feel better, don’t you think?  You see – Congress is smarter than we give them credit for.  Sometimes, anyway.

Plastic surgeons and esthetic specialists are against it – it hits them right in the pocket.  But the opposition also makes a good point that this tax burden is lopsided between the genders: “86% of cosmetic surgery patients are female …” said Dr. Michael McGuire, the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).  So we women are the ones who will shoulder the majority of the burden.

Gina has the solution

Personally, the move could send me directly to the poor house, given the amount of money I spend on upkeep, but I understand that we all have to rise to a national crisis.  I do, however, think that men and women should shoulder the burden equally, so my proposal is that we also add a 5% excise tax on pornography and call it the BoPo Tax!

It’s a brilliant plan! I should get the Nobel Peace Prize, except that it is not original – others have advocated the same thing for different reasons, not the least of which is because it is such a missed opportunity.  But now is the time!  The majority of pornography is consumed by men.  TopTenReviews.com reports that pornography in the US is about a $13 billion business – that’s video, magazines, Internet, escort services – the whole caboodle (or someone’s boodle.)  Cosmetic surgery – including enhancements like fillers and botox – also amounts to about $13 billion.  What a coincidence! So, combine them and together we have doubled the contribution we make to the 36 million people who don’t have insurance, and we have done it on an equal basis!

Problem solved. I just don’t know why these people don’t ask me first.*

Now, having realized just how right I am, I know you will want to join my campaign to support The BoPo Tax.  The BoPo Movement supports health care reform, understands our obligations and the urgency of the legislation.  We also know this should be done equally between the sexes.  We urge lawmakers to include in the Senate health care bill a 5% tax on pornography. (Just say it’s a health-related issue for erectile dysfunction or something.) It’s only fair.  You men – show your cajones (evidently that works for you), this is your chance to prove that you are truly in support of equality.

Click here to join.

*Gina would like to acknowledge her lawyer for his contribution to this story.