Good News: World's Oldest Profession Recession-Proof

Thanks to certain politicians (hello, Eliot Spitzer!) and others with plenty of disposable cash, there's at least one area of the U.S. economy that isn't hurt by the weakened dollar and soaring prices.

Despite the nation's sagging economy, a new report says the "escort" business is doing quite well.

According to Portfolio magazine, the average escort experience is valued at about $1,364, and the total US "escort economy" is more than $109.6 million.

Although former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a k a "Client-9," is the most infamous escort enthusiast, he is hardly alone.

About 700,000 men in the United States, or 0.65 percent, pay prostitutes for carnal relations each year, according to a survey quoted by the magazine.

Portfolio divided the escort economy into three types of experiences: the "regular," at about $540; the "Spitzer," at about $4,300; and the "platinum," a $64,000 "weekend-long encounter for the globetrotting billionaire" that includes the cost of a private jet and an extra $5,000 to distract the wife with a spa weekend.

Speaking of Spitzer, he's apparently soon to be subpoenaed, as is his predecessor, George Pataki.