People Are Becoming Sugar Babies Because of the Government Shutdown

Seeking.com has seen a surge in membership in the last 5 weeks from those looking for new ways to make money.

By Jessie Schiewe

Companionship — for a price — is just one click away. (Art: Sam Graap)

It took 35 days for President Trump to sign the bill ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. During that time, around 800,000 federal workers missed paychecks, had hours cut, or worked without pay. Families and individuals struggled financially to make ends meet as weeks dragged on with no resolution. Cash-strapped and nervous about the future, people sought alternative ways to make money. They sold off belongings, cashed in their investments, or took on extra jobs.

Some even joined the sex industry.

Thanks to the government shutdown, a surge in people have shown an interest in selling their companionship to pay the bills. And becoming somebody’s “sugar baby” was top on many people’s lists.

The website Seeking Arrangements reported a 35-percent increase in membership sign-ups since the government shutdown began on December 22. The online dating site pairs attractive, young sugar babies with rich, older beneficiaries. And it’s not just unpaid federal workers signing up to find sugar daddies. Founder and CEO Brandon Wade said in a video that their relatives are also signing up “in large numbers” in a bid to earn more cash. “Families of those missing a paycheck are feeling the impact of a tightening budget,” he said.

Those affected by but not directly involved with the government shutdown have also flocked to Seeking.com. Wade noted an increase in sign-ups from “lower income individuals who depend on government assistance, such as food stamps and assisted housing.” One new member, Isaac, a 21-year-old college student in Arkansas, told Daily Mail he registered to become a sugar baby when his financial aid account was frozen because he was missing a piece of crucial documentation from the IRS.

Turning to the sex industry when in a financial pinch is nothing new. College students are particularly vulnerable to the lure of it. Burdened with debt and often too busy with schoolwork to take on a job, research has found they’re more likely to turn to ulterior means of making money, like stripping, escorting, or prostitution.

For someone who makes a living pairing sugar babies with sugar daddies, you’d think Wade would be ecstatic by so many new faces on his site. But he’s not.

In the video he made it clear that he was more concerned with the negative effects the “un-American and profoundly unfair” shutdown has had on others than with his own business’ success.

He also made no effort of hiding his vitriol for the Donald. “President Trump should be proud,” he said wryly, “for [he] has single-handedly caused a huge increase in the search for sugar daddies in our country.”

Jessie Schiewe is the publisher and editor of OK Whatever.

Sam Graap is a real live visual lady in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys drawing hand stuff.

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