Personal Issue
The vulnerability of the current rules and regulations allow many illegal goods to leak into and join the white market – Am I an unwary user of illegal products?
The instability and debt in the Third World leaves it in a weak position. The government is not strong enough to enforce stringent regulation checks. The economy in such countries is very poor and the people are hungry for money. The financially ailing people have started coming up with creatively illicit methods to exploit their natural resources to make a better income in the black market. It has become quite easy for professional black market traders to mix their illegal goods with the mainstream legal exports and imports. So how can I be sure if the diamond necklace or the mobile phone or the prescription drugs I buy do not have a history of unlawful trading behind them? For my parent’s anniversary, my father bought my mother a diamond pendant. How do I know that unknowingly my family has indirectly caused a child to be slaved in Sierra Leonne?
Here is a related Scenario and its corresponding Course of Action
Scenario 1: Politicians encourage this lack of regulations and this increases the amount of illegal goods reaching the oblivious layman like me
In most countries where the illegal trading of goods is very prevalent – like most of the third world African nations – the government is not stable and strong either. They are otherwise occupied with issues dealing with accumulating debt and financial crisis. There is not enough emphasis on rules check. The politicians of such governments might possibly encourage the illegal market as they might be bribed in return for their help. They can fall for the lure of a better economic lifestyle and turn corrupt, cheating on the constitution of their own country. This means most of the natural resources of the country will begin to be traded in illegal methods. The white market shrinks and therefore the government starts to get a lower yearly income. This results in continued accumulation of debt and the continued existence of a financial crisis. But personally, it would mean that many of the products that I buy as a consumer would have a blood trail.
Course of Action:
While countries exporting the illegal goods might not be in the right position to take the necessary steps, the countries bringing in the exports must tighten their security measures and make strict protocol checks into the origin of all products. The immigration authorities should go through all the imported good before allowing them into the local market, making sure that the origin of the product can be traced back and that it has a clean history. If not, the products should not be allowed to enter. This way although the illegal market workers can export their products they cannot make sure it reaches the customer. This reduces their business deals and will eventually weaken them. I will be very thankful to my government for doing that because I, as a layman, can make very less impact on the situation. I do not have the necessary contacts or power to figure out if everything I buy is untainted and that I am not an indirect contributor to a child losing his childhood.
The instability and debt in the Third World leaves it in a weak position. The government is not strong enough to enforce stringent regulation checks. The economy in such countries is very poor and the people are hungry for money. The financially ailing people have started coming up with creatively illicit methods to exploit their natural resources to make a better income in the black market. It has become quite easy for professional black market traders to mix their illegal goods with the mainstream legal exports and imports. So how can I be sure if the diamond necklace or the mobile phone or the prescription drugs I buy do not have a history of unlawful trading behind them? For my parent’s anniversary, my father bought my mother a diamond pendant. How do I know that unknowingly my family has indirectly caused a child to be slaved in Sierra Leonne?
Here is a related Scenario and its corresponding Course of Action
Scenario 1: Politicians encourage this lack of regulations and this increases the amount of illegal goods reaching the oblivious layman like me
In most countries where the illegal trading of goods is very prevalent – like most of the third world African nations – the government is not stable and strong either. They are otherwise occupied with issues dealing with accumulating debt and financial crisis. There is not enough emphasis on rules check. The politicians of such governments might possibly encourage the illegal market as they might be bribed in return for their help. They can fall for the lure of a better economic lifestyle and turn corrupt, cheating on the constitution of their own country. This means most of the natural resources of the country will begin to be traded in illegal methods. The white market shrinks and therefore the government starts to get a lower yearly income. This results in continued accumulation of debt and the continued existence of a financial crisis. But personally, it would mean that many of the products that I buy as a consumer would have a blood trail.
Course of Action:
While countries exporting the illegal goods might not be in the right position to take the necessary steps, the countries bringing in the exports must tighten their security measures and make strict protocol checks into the origin of all products. The immigration authorities should go through all the imported good before allowing them into the local market, making sure that the origin of the product can be traced back and that it has a clean history. If not, the products should not be allowed to enter. This way although the illegal market workers can export their products they cannot make sure it reaches the customer. This reduces their business deals and will eventually weaken them. I will be very thankful to my government for doing that because I, as a layman, can make very less impact on the situation. I do not have the necessary contacts or power to figure out if everything I buy is untainted and that I am not an indirect contributor to a child losing his childhood.