I hope that everyone enjoyed the Iran v. Egypt Pride Day soccer match yesterday in Seattle.
“Minneapolis City Council votes to repeal ban on adult bathhouses, sex venues” (state-sponsored public NPR):
Adult bathhouses are community spaces that were historically frequented by gay men in the 1970s and ‘80s where people could engage in sexual activity or relax after going out to bars. They were banned in Minneapolis in 1988 during the AIDS epidemic.
The ban was for public health reasons due to a mistaken association between men having sex with 50 new male friends and contracting HIV/coming down with AIDS. Thanks to Science, the ban has been repealed.
In order to protect public health, a member of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community cannot legally bring a poodle-in-a-bag into a restaurant.
What does Science say about whether a toy-poodle-in-a-bag can be brought into a bathhouse? Is that a risk to public health?
Let’s ask AI to tell us what the financial stakes have been. Asked “What has been the total cost of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, over all of the years since it started, to the U.S. taxpayer in 2026 dollars?” ChatGPT answers:
A reasonable order-of-magnitude answer is about $1.25–$1.3 trillion in 2026 dollars in federal taxpayer spending from FY1981 through FY2026. … A rough allowance for state Medicaid shares and other nonfederal public spending would likely push the total to around $1.35–$1.45 trillion in 2026 dollars
Grok:
Roughly $1 trillion or more in nominal (unadjusted) dollars through ~2025/2026, likely $1.2–1.5+ trillion when adjusted to 2026 dollars. … This is direct government spending; it excludes private insurance, out-of-pocket, lost productivity, or indirect economic impacts (some older studies estimated broader burdens in the tens to hundreds of billions for specific periods). … Exact figures require summing detailed yearly tables from KFF/CRS/HHS (available in their reports), but the scale is clearly in the trillions when fully adjusted and projected.
I don’t see how the inflation adjustment can be correct. If $1 trillion nominal has been spent starting in the 1980s then the 2026 dollar figure should be higher. Spending $1 in 1981 is equivalent to spending $3.85 today (offiial CPI).
Loosely related…