Week 6 EOC: Illegal trade

Personally, I have never been one to buy anything having to do with illicit trade. I was raised to value the quality of any type of merchandise or services that I would be purchasing, and that definitely spills over into the area of faked goods. If I purchase a camera, I want to have some sort of recourse if anything is bad, which a warranty would take care of. You are unable to get that with a fake version. Also, the quality usually is far under what a manufacturer like Nikon or Canon produce.  Another aspect that I don’t think most people think about is taxation. By purchasing illicit goods, you are cutting out taxes that go to the different levels of government along the product’s life cycle. This puts yet another burden on our already stressed tax base, causing the government to raise that revenue elsewhere. The factory conditions where these items are made are sure to be unregulated, creating hazards for their workers, who I am sure are not insured, and the working conditions could be toxic and deadly in a worst-case scenario.  Illicit goods also cut into the job market, taking jobs from the rightful workers that make, transport and sell the different items. One of, if not the only positive side that the illicit trade brings is the cost of the items. But to me, the negative far outweighs the savings that purchasing a fake item brings. Legally, it’s extremely illegal. Morally, between taking away real jobs, the hazards, and the violence surrounding the illicit trade, it’s definitely bad. Ethically, again, you’re taking away taxes, jobs and hurting the normal person, even though you get the item/service cheaper. To me the entirety of the illicit trade is bad.