The porn industry testing system does work, It shows exactly how rampant stds are in the industry, and that is why Dianne Duke will always say we test so frequently, but she will NEVER reveal the results of those tests. PS,,can’t wait for that statute of limitations to expire this March regarding those ‘certain things’ that were done a few years ago.

@lurkingreader: LOL! Great response! 🙂
@mharris: LOL! Better check your meds. I think you may be having an adverse reaction again. 😉

@mharris

At this point I doubt anyone is reading this crazy ass exchange…since I need a break from serious data crunching …here goes.

“I hope this lays the issue of APAC and performer pay in porn to rest for a while.”

Seems safe to say I’m not the only one to hope you’ll put it to a rest permanently.

“I attempt to think my posts through but I have to edit them for length”

That’s even more scary than idea that your plucking this shit from your ass. Easiest way to edit for length is cutting all unrelated and personal crap.

“This makes it difficult for me to explain complicated issues on this blog, leading Lurk to believe that I am an idiot.”

I think your an idiot because you spew crap without a basis in reality. The plan you laid out in this post made as much sense as the one you presented for porn taking over a ghost town in Nevada.

“Each post like this one that I write takes me an hour or more to compose.”

Please don’t waste anymore time trying to convince me you aren’t an intellectual idiot. The best way to show you aren’t an idiot is to respond on point to relevant questions…IG if WC was included, net or gross etc when you lay out a plan instead of rambling nonsense that never clarifies the plan.

Doesn’t matter how much you try to justify why you speculated about a directors personal income…it had no relevance to performer income or the imaginary pay scale you presented. If your deluded business plan included maintaining one or more salaried performers it still wouldn’t be relevant to use directors or riggers income to present a performers expected income under your plan.

Mharris..you’re not liberal you’re deluded hence references to drinking kool-aid or medication issues made by numerous commenters.

I’ll leave it up to performers and companies who may or may not be flush with cash to decide if 750 gross is a fair if performer is paid as an employee with their test covered, WC, and tax withholding etc.

Your ramble into ACA has no bearing on the plan you laid out nor does it respond to my comment that performers have higher priorities than ACA they can’t afford.

“Therefore I feel I have a right to have an opinion regarding this issue.”

It’s idiocy to use your tax burden to justify opinions or comments on MikeSouth as he let’s folks spew opinions without cost.

“My attitude is if these companies can’t pay a living wage to their performers then they need to find another business to be in.”

If performers worked for only one company ‘a living wage’ would be relevant. Reality is performers work for many companies and rely on a ‘fair scene rate’ to pursue a living vs an hourly or regular ‘living wage.’

Performers also travel nationwide and internationally for scene opportunities which throws your assumption of regional living costs out the window, ignoring the affect of travel expenses.

Your ramble about losing marginal companies has no bearing on the plan you laid out. Seems more realistic to offer your hope and well wishes for work to drugged out no shows regardless of beauty or pristine titties vs ugly jailhouse tattooed girls who show up and do their job in a professional manner.

“my educated guess (from studies over the years on the effect of a minimum wage hike) is that roughly 90% of performers would be better off under this scenario.”

There ya go again throwing stats out like you know what the fuck you’re saying. Minimum wage studies relate only to hourly wage workers. Let me know if you find any ‘adjusted prevailing wage’ studies for porn performers.

“I purposely leave out escorting because it is a felony in most states, if it were legal and regulated maybe my opinion would change.”

Now here’s some serious idiocy! You rant about your taxes subsidizing benefits for second tier performers and advocate companies paying a higher wage and 10% to stuff but ignore that escorts have no legit reported income which entitles them to even more subsidized benefits, not to mention the costs associated with policing, courts and jail that your taxes are paying for too?

Once again hourly wages have not one fucking iota of relevance to performers or the plan you laid out.

“Finally, please don’t feel sorry for me (your remark about my reminicing about my steady paycheck is telling in this regard).”

So not feeling sorry for you! Your experience with a regular paycheck has no point of reference to performers (or any other small business owners) struggle to make a living. Your ramble of how well you planned and lived below your means makes it obvious you missed that point.

It’s idiocy to not see the contradiction of laying out your advantages as somehow relevant to performers struggling to just get contracted scenes or maintain status as a second tier performer with the dream of someday becoming top tier…meanwhile they struggle to find the means for their most basic needs dreaming of day when they can simply live within their means. Should I mention how your benefits are affected by all the Medicaid and SSI performers are forced to rely on as a ‘smart planning’ move to avoid tricking from a tent when they’re 59?

“Most people my age today end up financing their cars and scrimping to make the payments.”

More idiocy and has no relevance to plan you laid out or performers struggling to find their next meal!

I hope this puts a rest to mharris spewing irrelevant crap from his ass!

@mharris

43% represents the number of women identified as a percentage Truvada users….based on a total number of 2300. Dismissing your rambling bullshit….I’ll make the point you obviously missed

Your sources like to use bullshit data when they aren’t relying on speculative anecdotal opinions as fact.

Lurk, where do you come up with 43% for women on Truvada. I may be misunderstanding your comment but I would think less than 1% of sexually active single women are on PrEP or PEP as of November 2014. Even Peter Acworth hasn’t come up with that kind of figure and he is pushing Truvada as a panacea. I know I am a man but PrEP is applicable to men as well and my doc hasn’t offered it to me, she knows I am single and occasionally sexually active. If it hasn’t been offered to me with insurance coverage I doubt it has been offered to many in her practice (my area’s doctor office is a federally subsidized operation mainly serving the poor population in the area which consists of a small wealthier population on the outskirts where I live and a large poor population on Medicaid in the center and the other side of the county, I could take you to some areas where houses are literally falling apart and supposedly some even have dirt floors –we have even come across poor people unable to afford housing living in tents in the national parks in the spring and summer — that part of the county is that poor).

My comment about Lorelei Lee was to attempt to explain that I knew she was not hurting for money even though I used her as an example of an example of a salaried performer in porn. That comment needed to be made to show that I know not all performers are paid per-scene whether it be a contract with Wicked (Stormy Daniels is an example) or a primary job as a director or rigger (Lorelei Lee, Rain DeGrey).

Sorry if I am liberal about certain social causes like a fair wage. I wasn’t raised rich (my upbringing was more middle-class), I actually had to learn the value of a dollar growing up and carry those attitudes with me even today. I know not every company is flush with money but (especially with the ACA which I do support in general although a British-style Medicare plan funded by a 10% increase in the corporate and personal income tax would have been better for both employers and employees and wouild be cheaper than the ACA/employer-provided hybrid medical insurance system we have now) my tax dollars (I have paid and continue to pay more in taxes yearly than most porn performers make even in my retirement) currently subsidize second-tier performers (those working for $500 a scene gross as a 1099 contractor — probably $300 net with the double FICA tax on “self-employed” business people, some likely work only six or seven scenes a month if that, do the math on that one) medical insurance now, probably food stamps and subsidized housing as well for some because of the low pay rate of second-tier companies and the lack of scenes for certain sectors of the biz. Therefore I feel I have a right to have an opinion regarding this issue. My attitude is if these companies can’t pay a living wage to their performers then they need to find another business to be in. My proposed minimum is higher because of the high cost of living in CA. With the lower cost of living in other areas I can understand a slightly lower per-scene rate in other areas of the country (including Mike’s home base in GA and FL, especially considering his performers for the most part don’t live in high-cost CA — I would have to see prices of food, rent/mortgage, car insurance, etc. to say how much of a reduction is appropriate but for comparison in northern MI last I checked living costs are about 25% lower than Los Angeles, CA). As the marginal companies go out of business other companies that can afford to pay a living wage will produce more to fill in the gap left in the biz (now that they can make a profit doing so), hiring more performers at a wage they can truly live on. We lose a few performers (probably the ones that look like shit with jailhouse tattoos on their tits and chest) completely in the shuffle which is unfortunate but hopefully they can find other employment, my educated guess (from studies over the years on the effect of a minimum wage hike) is that roughly 90% of performers would be better off under this scenario. I purposely leave out escorting because it is a felony in most states, if it were legal and regulated maybe my opinion would change. For the record I am a supporter of the $15 per hour minimum wage as well, maybe even $18 in high-cost CA in general and $20 or more in SF/Oakland/Marin where rents and utilities combined are over $3K a month for a two-bedroom apartment, have a roommate and you are still at $1500 a month per person for a SF/Marin apartment — maybe this explains my mindset more clearly.

Finally, please don’t feel sorry for me (your remark about my reminicing about my steady paycheck is telling in this regard). I have some health issues and retired at 59 because of them but I will do fine. I receive regular pension and Social Security income as well as have savings and investments, I have retiree health insurance to supplement Medicare through a former job. Smart planning when you are young really does help a person when retirement time comes around. People snickered at me when I lived below my means during my working years, living in modest houses and driving my cars (with needed maintenance) until the wheels just about fell off while working but they aren’t laughing now that they are living paycheck to paycheck. For example my father was shocked when I handed him a substantial amount of cash and sent him to the auto auction to buy another car a few years ago (the old one’s body was literally falling apart from rust, I don’t drive so may as well allow him to pick out what he will be driving — yes he still drives and hasn’t had an accident in decades). Most people my age today end up financing their cars and scrimping to make the payments.

I hope this lays the issue of APAC and performer pay in porn to rest for a while. I attempt to think my posts through but I have to edit them for length, if I explained every little thing each of my posts would take up two typewritten pages and overload Mike’s server. This makes it difficult for me to explain complicated issues on this blog, leading Lurk to believe that I am an idiot. Each post like this one that I write takes me an hour or more to compose.

Apac is a joke. A scam. A bunch of con artists. It’s a do nothing organization that solicits donations. Where those donations go nobody knows.. Perhaps Nina hartley’s bank account.. That flip flopper goes where the money flows. She has no credibility..

Let’s see..APAC was formed over a year ago by the FSC ..ummm …I mean by stoya, Asa akira and James Deen who are FSC puppets..particularly deen who is diane dukes number one stooge. He doesn’t miss an opportunity to tow the industry bullshit! So are they the ones really pulling the strings at APAC? Is the FSC the real leader of this organization?

This so called performer advocacy group has done nothing to help the performers. Zip! They do nothing but spew the same exact bullshit the leaders of the industry and mharris127 spews….condoms are bad! 🙁 They cause condom burn! 🙁 No onset transmission of HIV in 10 years! 🙂 It’s not what the performers do onset its what they do offset! 🙁 Testing works! 🙂 Blah blah blah…

And according to this interview Chanel Preston and Connor habib did for playboy….

http://www.playboy.com/articles/apac-organizes-porn

APAC has big plans! Demanding Condoms? Nope. To help the performers so they can stop being taken advantage of by the powers that be? Nope. To improve the testing system? Nope. To create more “educational videos” most of which will be focused on one topic… Lying to the public? Umm, I mean, from “what to bring to set” to “understanding your sexual health”YES! Bingo! Ding ding ding!!! And “like the lol porn 101 video these videos will also be made available to the general public in hopes that they will be stupid enough to believe the bullshit and lies we spew”..Um I mean “they will be made available to the general public with hopes of dispelling myths about porn and humanizing performers and making the industry more open.”Great! I Can’t wait! Thank god these videos will be made available to the public! We in the general public THANK YOU! Let the LOL countdown begin! 🙂

Anyway, Judging from this interview, I have come to the conclusion that APAC’S real goal is NOT helping the performers but lying and spreading more bs and propaganda to the General public about what really goes on in the industry in hopes that people will be stupid enough to believe what they say and support them…(they’re not) .. That they care about their health and safety and AHF/michael Weinstein is a big bully picking on these poor innocent victims and wasting tax payers money trying to get someone to enforce the law…when there is no problem. Our testing works! We care! Lol Oh, and they are also hoping that they can con some new naive suckers into joining the industry.

Not a bad idea to pick a week in say late May and late November to head into the busy summer & slower winter when less production happens …which means less testing with less GC/CT floating around.

You didn’t specify but I’m assuming the fundraisers would be to cover anatomical swabbing, treatment and post treatment testing as the additional testing? Would you also include a filming hiatus to head off performers who might use antibiotics as a test prophylactic assuming they’re good to go either way?

@mharris

Wtf is your point? You post some pie in the sky bullshit business plan totally ignore the chance to offer clarity posting unrelated rambling nonsense about no studies yet pop out 5% like you know what the fuck you’re saying.

In your bullshit business plan you were applying your arbitrary $750 to other companies as well as your imaginary ideal…after a week you come back with bullshit crap about OSHA…fornication laws and Christians are the devil crap. guess we should be glad your reference this week is your dad vs Nina Hartley?

Seriously responding after a week then adding a PS I should have said….WTF is your point?

you’re putting this out there like you’re all heart complaining how unfair it is that some companies are paying full freight picking up the tab for others….

Most performers would read that and think if not say FUCK YOU !!!! and the scholarly loafers your genius brain pranced over to the keyboard in….WE’VE BEEN PAYING FULL FREIGHT FOR DEADBEAT COMPANIES FROM DAY ONE!

While you and your dad are reminiscing over the hey days of both of your steady paychecks and bitching over your retirement benefits here’s some food for thought if your addled brain is capable….

Performers don’t care about your imaginary company or bullshit ideals you want to pass onto smaller companies who can carry the load of your arbitrary scene fees…they have real shit to worry about like making a choice to eat, pay rent, or fork out money for a test so they can work hoping the producer thought to pack a lunch for them too. Too many performers hear about ACA and blow it off cuz they can’t afford the subsidized premiums and why bother cuz it won’t cover 2x or even once monthly testing.

As for anyone else…if they have 1/4 of the brain power you ascribed to HopSing they know you’re just spewing pie in the sky bullshit that has no basis in reality. If you were discussing a real business plan you’d be talking about the costs to you vs how much a performer will net of they book 8 or 9 scenes with other companies in any given month.

BTW…”Lorelei as a director” salary has not one fucking iota of relevance to your imaginary business plan to pay performers $750 a scene.

Regarding asking if I would pay for testing at my hypothetical production company I should have answered your question yesterday, Lurking. I would more than likely cover testing costs for performers working for me (or add $200 to the per scene rate for this purpose so instead of paying $750 I would pay $950) if I owned a porn film production company. I have said before that I believe producers should cover the cost whether it be a fee-based system where they pay by the test verification or whatever. I don’t think it is fair for one company to have to pay full freight for a test that is used at ten companies but that is the way it is now for Kink and a few others that pay for their performers tests.

As for my pay thoughts I think the $750 should be gross as paychecks at any other employer describe it (with employer FICA, unemployment, etc. on top of that), with testing paid for the performer should net about $550-$600. Ten scenes a month would net a performer $5500 or so, a person can live on that comfortably in LA. SF would be a problem with rents above $3K a month, maybe Kink and Intersec would need to pay more being located in SF/Oakland (currently Intersec pays $1200 plus a scene to the performer, Kink is between $800 and $1400 to females IIRC). To salaried performers such as Lorelei Lee, Darling and Rain DeGrey that mainly work for one company that would be at least $90K annually (you can bet your ass that Lorelei as a director at Kink makes much more, Rain as an editor and rigger at Intersec probably makes more as well).