The comparison of minimum wage doesn't make sense because it's sex work!
[QUOTE=PerkinWarbeck;2898788]They didn't ruin Cartagena because there aren't enough men to go around. Those prices are not sticky because a muchacha can't afford to let you walk away. It's the difference between paying her rent or buying her son new shoes or not.
Think about it. If 350-400 k pesos was the going rate for short time in Cartagena, why would a Colombian working girl work in Barranquilla, Bogota, or Medellin for 150 k? The city would be flooded with ladies.
Let's put this in perspective. I live here in Cartagena. My girlfriend's dad, a Cartagenero, earns 1. 8 MM pesos a month managing a restaurant in Bocagrande. He's in his late 40's and has been doing this for 13 years. Now imagine earning 1/5 of what he makes for an hour of a girl's time. That sounds absolutely insane. And it is. 400 k pesos is a ridiculous amount of money for the vast majority of Colombians.[/QUOTE]Sex workers in all countries including the US are capable of making the average monthly salary on one night. I know strippers pulling in 5-6 k in one shift in NyC. Not even Vegas. Girls charging 1 k an hour getting 3-4 clients.
That's why I never understood this comparison. Sex workers will make a lot more than an average working salary. That's how it's always been. Even at third world rates they can make 2-300 k a night dancing at a strip club that comes to 7-8 million a month.