California faces a staggering budget deficit and a Democrat in the state Assembly has come up with a novel tax plan to try to close the gap. Representative Charles Calderon wants a special tax of 25 percent on gross receipts of California ’s booming pornography industry. He argues that it’s not just a question of more money for the state, but of purveyors of so-called “adult entertainment” paying off the societal costs of the toxic, addictive product they produce.  

Republicans rightly prefer sweeping cuts in government to avoid all new taxes, but if the state ultimately needs more money, better to aim at marketers of porn rather than hitting mainstream, respectable industries. It makes sense to tax Jack Daniels more than carrot juice, cigarettes more than celery sticks, and lap dances and porno stores more than 7-11’s.