Okay I just wanted to comment and tell you how very very thankful I am that you guys have started making these videos. I literally wait for the Crash Course Economics episodes to come out eagerly every week. I've watched all of them... and if there were 100 more I would just sit and binge watch them. As dramatic as this sounds, the videos have really changed my life. They've changed the way I look at my money, business, and the world. Before I was never able to save money and after watching these videos it was like a paradigm shift ( a huge one). I hated work with a firey passion prior to these videos, and as a result could not keep jobs for a long time which is one of the reasons I wanted to become an entrepreneur. These videos have helped me see work as a "trade" for labour vs money. I provide a service and if I am being fairly compensated it should be a quality service. I think about opportunity cost now all the time. I think of myself on a large/longer timeline. I don't seek instant gratification anymore. I understand that If I put it work now it will result in a much larger happiness later (temporary pain for long term gain). And I think Adrian Hill is amazing! I love her and wouldn't chose anyone else to do these videos... I follow her really well and she speaks very clearly. Plus you gotta love that upbeat attitude. Anyways, thanks again for making these. If I could donate a million dollars just to ensure that you guys never stop making videos on economics I 100% would! In fact, *if* one day I do succeed in business, and truly make something for myself I would look back and attribute much of that to these videos..... as theyve made a huge impact on my thoughts, habits, and actions which we all know become who we are. It'd be super cool too if you guys did maybe some videos related to businesses, starting a business, or just general other topics like you did in that one where you talked about "How to know when to stop hiring workers, specialization in making pizza." It'd be cool to do a video on Lotto tickets and gambling.
This has nothing to do with the video, but I was just thinking that you should totally do a crash course series for computer programming! It would be so helpful since a lot of people would benefit from knowing some basics, but a lot of schools don't offer it.
Any transaction that isn't taxes or kept track of is black market. Things like paying someone cash to cut your grass, baby sit, or do Any work; granny giving you $50 for your birthday, playing poker (or anything) for money, etc; selling lemonade, drugs, homemade crafts, having a yard sale, etc.... These things are All part of the underground economy and are technically supposed to be accounted for on your taxes or are just illegal. The govt turns a blind eye to most bc it's too hard to track and enforce and pretty much everybody would be guilty but they are technically illegal to do and not report and pay taxes on... And some are just illegal anyway!!
+David Belcher Some activities are illegal by themselves (being defined as illegal by law) like drug dealing or distributing pirated software copies. Other activities are themselves legal, but tax evasion is always illegal. As you said "they are technically illegal to do and not report and pay taxes on", not the activity is illegal, but only not reporting the income made from this activities.
PaiNExoTiC I wouldn't agree with you. For just one example: some taxes are spent on defense. Would be moral that the army or the navy choose not to defend you or your home just because you're not a tax payer? Russian (or chinese) bombs falling on a city would not target only tax payer homes. :)
SlocketSeven Well, technically, any business for which are not paid taxes is illegal and had to be shut down. But local or federal budget won't be hurt if a lemonade stand or a kid showeling show would not pay proper tax. A local bugdet won't sink into destitute if someone do not pay an income tax on 10 or 20 dollars earned. But it's not the same if Exxon, or Microsoft try to evade any tax. There are a lot of money involved, Something like.. If you owe a thousand dollars to a bank, you have a problem. If you owe a million dollars to a bank, the bank has a problem. :)
Summary! XXXII: The Underground Economy 1) Also known as the shadow/informal/unofficial/hidden economy, or black market. When economists talk about the underground economy they are talking about a much wider, less nefarious (like drug dealing, organ black market) group of activities. The informal economy they talk about is all the trade and work that happens off the books, under the table, outside the sight and reach of government rules and taxes - a lot of these are completely mundane (e.g., a nanny or housekeeper’s job). 2) It is estimated to be worth trillions of dollars globally; about 10 - 20% of total GDP in developed countries. In the US the underground economy is probably worth somewhere between 1 and 2 trillion dollars. In developing countries the underground economy often accounts for more than one-third of economic outputs. The international labour organisation says the informal economy also employs half to three-quarters of all non-farm employees in the developing countries. 3) Economist have come up with indirect macroeconomic ways to try and wrap their head around the informal economy. a. One way to estimate the size of the hidden economy is by looking at the difference between the total income accounting reports and its total expenditures. b. By looking at the demand for cash - a greater demand for cash in an economy might signal a larger underground economy. c. By studying electricity usage: electricity is a good indicator of total economic activity. 4) Illegal trade: According to the UN, organised crime is an 870-billion dollar a year business, about one and a half percent of global GDP drug trafficking is a biggest chunk of that - about 320 billion. Others: counterfeiting, smuggling, human trafficking, exploiting the environment (timber trafficking, hunting endangered species) 5) The European Union recently asked member countries to do a better job counting vice in their GDP totals. Spain and Britain also have similar concerns. 6) Because illegal markets are by their nature illegal, they can often be dangerous places to buy or sell. 7) What is wrong (or otherwise) with people doing legal jobs, just working off the books? Cons: ILO points out that workers in the informal economy don't have the same sort of safety-net (job security and welfare) in place as people who work in regulated jobs. Economists also point out that a big informal economy makes it difficult for the government to get an accurate count of important economic statistics like unemployment and income, which might encourage misguided economy policies. Tax revenues may fall, becoming part of up a negative vicious cycle. Pros: However it can offer jobs and work where they don't otherwise exist, e.g. during the US financial crisis, where it served as a temporary buffer for individuals, and the economy as a whole.
'Sorry sir, but we don't take credit cards ' ' How about endangered salamanders" ' ... Why would I take that" ' Because you're technically operating in the black market" " I think you have misunderstood how that works"
+LunarX I'm guessing that happened in the US and they body slammed the little girl head first onto the ground, choked her half to death and beat her to within an inch of her life, too, right? Also, I'm guessing she was white, otherwise she would have been summarily executed on the spot and the police given a paid vacation and a commendation.
As an ex small time drug dealer i can tell you that the black market is all about trust. You need to trust people before you do business with them. Informal imployment is in a lot of situations better than government work. I made more money than doing honest work. I actually felt more empowered too. Ive also had legal work too like a cashier. I also did under the table landscaping work. Underground work to me was always better because it gave you the ability to negociate with employers and customers. Legal work is like my way or the highway.
xenoblad Well in the case of Landscaping, roofing, and construction it is almost a necessity because of how little the workers actually earn. I mean I did a job where I worked for 5 hours cleaning up a yard with one of my buddies (It was backbreaking and there was too much trash) and all I got paid was $15. If you tax that then its 5 hours for $10. I've made more for less work too but the majority is very similar to this.
+Pavel Radev Wow I have to pay $10-$15 an hour for someone to help me do that type stuff and it is usually kids that can't work much more than half as efficiently as I do.
Paul Ewing Yeah I know what you mean. I think I was actually 15 when I had that job. It was a set $30 for the yard clean-up. Me and my buddy split that even. Also it was my buddy's dad who gave the quote. We were working for him. He should have asked for more. Most of the time the workers don't even see the yard until it is time to work. Sometimes it's fair and sometimes you get screwed. What can you do right?
The underground economy is not necessarily bad. It is the result of government regulation and taxes. The more the government tries to control the economy, the more people will evade of such control.
That's a stupid idea. Underground economies grow out of underdeveloped societies where the government is already weak. That's also a major point in this video, that higher developed economies don't need underground economies because there's sufficient employment, resources and institutions.
Trust is the basis of Economics. When trust is lost then we defer to Justice. Regressive Regulation precludes trust which distorts and calcifies normally fluid market relations.
7:28 BAH!!! I'd do it in a pinch on the side of the road (while being extremely careful), but for routine work it is a habit that I'd never want to form. car needs to be on jack stands, not a lifting jack.
Algebra is fancy counting. More literally, it is how early businessman wrote down the information for two lines in order to find their intercept. Nearly everything you learn in algebra goes toward that goal, then builds on it so you can also move those lines up and down. This intersection is important because it helps set the ideal price for goods, the best number of goods to trade at a price, and other happy crap that doesn't help you shopping at Target. Walmart. Whatever. There is a special part of algebra called conic sections and logarithm. This is how non-linear lines were made. Like, how fast things grow. Everything else in algebra is details. Especially rearranging equations. You just gotta figure that shtuff out.
There needs to be an episode of the shadow banking system, mainly about derivatives and swaps. I'd love to see if any economist can justify its huge size.
+Matthew Greet I'm not an economist (but I play one on the internet): derivatives can be used to hedge price risk. This means that producers (miners, farmers, mid-stream manufacturers) are free to focus on PRODUCTION instead of worrying about price risk. Example: a forward contract (it is a derivative because the contract terms DERIVE from the price of an underlying asset). Let's say I own a gold mine and that the spot price of gold is $1280. Let's say that my price per ounce of gold produced (actual cash layout) at my mine is $750 per ounce; that's a $530 per ounce profit margin. If I enter into a forward contract to sell my production at $1275 per ounce, then I no longer have to worry about whether the gold price in the near or medium term future will drop below my production cost: I'm free to just operate my mine, which means that I can address issues within my particular skill set (mine safety, maintaining equipment, exploration) instead of worrying about whether I should even be mining in the first place due to price fluxes.
Carlos Lam That explains the usefulness of a derivative but does not explain the usefulness of the derivatives markets' size compared to the world's wealth.
+Matthew Greet Perhaps there are market participants entering derivative contacts without the possibility of settling the contracts. To go back to my prior gold mining example, let's say my counterparty knows that he will be insolvent if the gold price goes to $1270 but tells me otherwise. This is common law fraud & can be dealt with under current common law principles.
Economists probably would not justify the size of the complex financial instruments in play a the moment. And most agree about their effect on the financial crisis. It is not an economist's prerogative to agree with financial innovation. I don't see the link.
Adriene is so much more fun to watch than the guy, she just catches your attention with her mild smooth explaining and talking, unlike the guy who speaks way too fast and complicated
+tristikov It can work. The thing you ban will most likely serve some human need or desire, and so, if you can substitute that need with something else, then the ban will work. But taking something away without replacing it is often a ham fisted policy that is bound to fail.
8:18 -Agree about the negative cycle part as I am seeing it practically everyday. 90% of the employed are in unorganized sector, making only 0.3% of the population tax-payers. This is further forcing the Government to reduce the funds for social security schemes. Corruption, security and environmental problems are also adding to the miseries of the poor. I wonder where this will end, or is there a 'economic theory or model' which can provide a solution
+xxluigi123 Yes, but the burning question is. What on earth does she do with all those teeth? Is she doing witchcraft with them? Are the fanatics going to have to hunt down the tooth fairy and burn her at the stake?
Hi Adrienne & Crash Course -- Can economists use changes in unemployment rate to help determine the size of the underground economy? Also, what's the relationship between the underground economy and the government in countries where the underground economy makes up a large part of GDP? Do you think that provides governments an incentive for ignoring illegal markets? Thanks! Ben PS - An intro to development economics video would be really awesome!
I have a final essay about thomas de quincey and i would love it if you made a video explaining who he is? His beliefs? Literally everything about him??
+Rick Apocalypse And someone is making a killing out of it. Otherwise there would be no private prison companys. The same someone is also lobbying for incarceration to keep his prisons full. Resulting in unneccessary incarcerations for non-violent crimes and - as a lot of pepole argue - an increased crime rate as smalltimers get into direct contact with more "hardend" criminals and find it harder to find legitimate employment after a stint in prison. You think "tough on crime" is for the benefit of the pepole? Think again. ;)
Bird_Dog Drug related crimes shouldn't be crimes in the first place. That said, all other crimes should make the criminal work during his time in prison.
There is no mention of service industry workers not putting out what they make in tips. How do you measure all cash transactions and tips from someone when a credit card isn't used?
+Henri-Ansel Vallee also the panama papers show that a lot of money is hidden from taxes by corporations and may be brought back into the country through hidden means (bit coin value is increased from this by banks doing illegal things for example).
What does it even mean for an economy to be worth a certain amount? The goods on sale keep changing... does a trillion dollar economy mean a trillion dollars pass through it every year? Or have passed since the beginning of history (that wouldn't seem that much)? Or that its combined GDP is worth a trillion dollars?
+Miles Wilson They're more interesting in their technical implementation than market consequences. If you replaced all bitcoin transactions with dollar transactions, nothing would change in the economy.
The problem here is the use of an Income Tax instead of a Consumption Tax. This is one of the issues it would fix, but the big one is the off-setting of other distortionary effects like the inherent effect Income Taxes have on savings which limit investment.
+WisMicYal11 Yes, but that can be fixed through a progressive redistribution program to compensate. Alternatively through a progressive consumption tax, perhaps with goods typically bought by higher income people being taxed at a higher rate, and some goods bought exclusively by poor people not being taxed.
Erik Nielsen Hm, that's interesting. I wonder if there is any research on that; there likely is. I wonder how anyone would decide how to classify products. Thanks for the thought provoking response!
Electricity is NOT a good indicator of the underground economy. It might work in some states, but the ones close to the north or south pole use a whole lot more of the stuff, without being more corrupt. And yes - it changes due to the weather.
Fernando Herrera No, what I'm saying is that most of what is sold as 'free market' these days is very much a captured and command market, licensed and controlled by forces at the OPPOSITE end of where the rubber hits the road (as in government.) It is THAT inefficiency which hobbles economies with poverty, creating barriers to entry and pricing disorder.
Tark McCoy except it's those same forces that make police officers, firefighters, the military, welfare, social security, highways, roads, free education and so much more even possible. You can't make what's important for all to have entire accessible without some effect on the private sector which often produces not what we need, but what some people want.
Products and services deemed necessary would be supported without government. I'll admit that the military makes sense for the government to supply whether it be state-run militias or a standing federal army, but if you think there are no other options other than turning to the government for law enforcement, fire fighters, welfare (charity), social security (retirement), roads or education, you're wrong. Also, nothing is free. I prefer to think of the term "free" as "paid for." At least then it prompts people to consider who is paying for what.
maybe governments can stop lining their pockets with tax dollars, spend responsibly and actually do the jobs that they were elected to do the way that it is mandated... oh ya, what was I thinking...
they would if they where adequately monitored and where punished even they didn't; but such an apparatus would probably be more expensive than just doing away with the state.......
+Wayne Shaw The problem with that line of thinking is that it presupposes that the government is one large entity thinking and acting with one mind, when it is in fact hundreds, even thousands of people who all think and act independently. While graft and corruption are serious issues that need to be addressed, generalizing it in such a way doesn't help anything.
+Deism Drake How would you create an apparatus that does so, is presumably state run, and does not have the same issues? One more reason government is untenable in the long run
+ryan wiley yeah at the end she said we could either raise taxes or cut social security, but... no... that's a false choice. We could giving tax breaks to billionaires and getting involved in wars that don't involve us.
+ryan wiley Yeah but that is not really what the topic of the video is about. It is about the underground markets that tend to emerge and what effects they have.
Asking if "we want" poor people to sell organs is the wrong question. The question isn't whether or not it makes you feel bad, the question is how it changes THAT person's life. Does eliminating that option make them better off?
***** false. People sell organs because they prefer to have something else rather than keeping the organ. What is "scary" is irrelevant to whether or not a person consents to it and bears no relevance to the conversation.
+Eric Roux The stay-at-home day care isn't factored into the GDP at all; however, as a result of the stay-at-home day care, the working spouse can (theoretically) work longer and make more $$$, which is factored into the GDP.
+Eric Roux Or if you're really weird, you could file MFS on your taxes and pay (W2) your spouse for the day care. Be advised this is an astronomically stupid thing to do, tax-wise, 99% pf the time.
In Portugal informal economy pays much more than formal economy, i would say it pays 2 times more to the works and at the same time delivers much cheaper and quality goods and services.
Not that science will ever agree with economics, but: Work = Force X Distance (and we aren't paid enough to get out of bed in the morning) It is, however, quite effective in determining just how far you can push something and to what level of degree.
Govt can try to fight it but will always fail. The War on Drugs is example #1: A. As govt arrests drug dealers, the supply of drugs decreases. B. Less supply leads to higher prices (more profits for dealers). C. The high profits then attract MORE individuals into the drug trade. D. Repeat the cycle.
+Carlos Lam That is with assumption that there is no barrier to entry to the drug trade. War on Drugs is a failure of course. Though in theory, if you destroy the supply fast enough and raise barrier to entry high enough, the supply will die off eventually.
+area0404 True enough. However, destroying the supply will also raise the price of drugs because -- again -- decreased supply = increase profits. Additionally, even if the ENTIRE supply of one drug is destroyed, other drugs will fill its place (e.g. increased heroin use as a result of tighter opiod prescription regulations).
Carlos Lam I think it depends on how well the government controls the replenishment of supply. Again, US has done a bad job on this. I doubt any country can do a good job actually. However, by diminishing supply, it does open a window of opportunity to slash demand as well (as it is also wrong to assume demand for drugs is unavoidable). US also failed on that front as War on Drugs was not followed by any action to diminish demand. I think Singapore is a good case study here. We have extremely high penalty for distribution of drugs. It is pretty much always death penalty if you are found guilty of distribution. However, a lot of education and checks are in place as well to educate the masses on the danger of drugs. So Singapore has extremely low rate of drug abuse. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/05/singapore-policy-drugs-bay
I think that you're correct: diminishing demand is the key to reducing drug use, though culturally I doubt it can be done by the govt here in the US. IMHO, only families & local communities -- by establishing expected norms of conduct -- can truly reduce demand.
also, it would if been nice if you'd of touched on kidney trading, where you have: Alice and Ben are happily married, Ben needs a new kidney but Alice isn't a match. But Alice is a match for Catherine who also needs a kidney and Catherine's lover Denis who is not a match for Catherine is a match for Ben so Alice gives 1/2 of her kidneys to Catherine and Denis gives 1/2 of his kidneys to Ben. to the best of my knowledge they haven't developed a debt system yet, but do allow for more complicated trades but they only allow trading one kidney for one kidney.
There are two major groups in the "off the books" economy. There are the poor, and there are the criminals. If taxes are the reason that the poor are going "off the books" then you don't get a vicious cycle if you raise taxes on the rich to create a social safety net that has more net than holes. Most of the criminal black market is in drugs. Legalization takes care of that problem completely. The taxes that could be collected would go a long way towards funding the drug treatment programs that might be necessary. Savings on jails and courts would more than pay for the rest.
Brian Moya More or less, at least on the Portugal model for the "harder" ones. It's still illegal to sell them there, but not to take them. That takes away the protection that the dealers get because their customers could then go to the police without being arrested themselves. It massively reduces the problem, gets people treatment, and costs taxpayers far less. OTOH there's probably no net downside to outright legalization of pot, coke, ecstasy and the like.
+Paul Peterson I mostly agree on all of your points i just think you are misinformed about one tiny thing, why poor people work in the "off the books" economy. Poor people do not work in the informal economy because they do not want to pay taxes, they work in it mostly because that is physically the only job they could secure for themselves. The street vendor would love to work in the formal economy if given the chance, he/she would love to get the peace of mind that their paychecks are a secure thing and not dependent on the whim of the people that day; that they get sick days and health benefits, because every day they do not work means that they do not have money for that day. He/she works as a street vendor most likely because of education level and possibly the fact that they do not know the language all that well. Governments should not fight this type of informal economy because it is not as if the people doing it chose this way of life. In fact, Tthey should do everything they can to integrate it somehow; give these people the same benefits that they would get if they are part of the formal economy and in return pay their taxes.
AvatarMaster9x I agree completely. If anyone is avoiding taxes, it is the employer in the off books economy. In these posts however I'm trying to convince Republicans, and they don't think anyone even gets out of bed unless it is to avoid taxes. Cheers
If you're talking about the concrete color bits in the area that's mostly painted blue I think a good guess is that a balcony was removed and/or a facade was removed, or signs, etc.
Integration is the most viable solution, make informal jobs formal as much as possible. Not saying lemonade stand should pay taxes, but integrate the ones that make sense.
Each typically informal job has its own issues associated with it. If it's the sex trade, then it's really about whether people should be allowed to do that. If it's sweatshops, you probably have to have a serious talk about illegal immigrants. If it's yard sales, you'll probably have to find ways to avoid yard sales becoming permanent shops. And if it's people making money from privately cutting people's hair, you have to figure out the rights and rules for doing this.
What about the Prosumer. This is a person who produces value in the economy and then consumes what they produce. This used to be 90% of the economy. When people moved into urban areas and began to rely on factories for their income, they became consumers which means that they only consume what is produced by others, but with some corporation in the middle to rake off value. If I grow veggies in my garden and then eat them, I have produced value in the economy but then I consume that value. Now the Prosumer accounts for only a very small fraction of the economy because we have become totally dependent on the producers which are now big corporations and not just people.
Poor people already sell their kidneys, might as well be to someone who gives them anesthesia. P.S. I am very attracted to the Thought Bubble Presenting Lady.
+Elouj Time Reaver we're going to start taking rich peoples' kidneys, with them you can get two for the price of one rich person... as you can take both kidneys since they're rich enough to live on dialysis for the rest of their lives. Sounds like a much more efficient market to me. And yes they will chose just as the poor people chose... both under duress... the poor person's duress is economic desperation to feed and shelter themselves... the rich person will be creative... essentially they'll be tortured until they consent to having their kidneys taken out. So it's is the same type of choice a poor person has.
I'm new and I have already seen a few videos but I still can't figure out what do you work as? Or what you studied in university? I would like to follow your lead and do something where I can receive as much knowledge of everything!!! Thank you
+What's Their Name Again? Do you think that region of France would be populated with girls of the same name? Because I knew a girl of that very name (so lame, but I just wanna put this out there :P Hi Britanny(s) of the world! XD )
+daedra40 Ahahahah, I don't think so, the French name is "Bretagne" and the Breton name is "Breizh" and neither of them are common first names :p And French people generally don't choose that many English first names for their children (well I've seen some, but it's rare). And I don't think I've ever met a Breton person named Brittany, sorry to disappoint :p.
Some things aren't worth going after in the first place, so the stand should be fine as long as it stays small in scale. The people enforcing the law are human after all.
Yes, I was a black market lemonade dealer at the tender age of 7, but you can call me Addison.
+BakedpotatQ you little criminal.
How to join shadow economy
Okay I just wanted to comment and tell you how very very thankful I am that you guys have started making these videos. I literally wait for the Crash Course Economics episodes to come out eagerly every week. I've watched all of them... and if there were 100 more I would just sit and binge watch them.
As dramatic as this sounds, the videos have really changed my life. They've changed the way I look at my money, business, and the world. Before I was never able to save money and after watching these videos it was like a paradigm shift ( a huge one). I hated work with a firey passion prior to these videos, and as a result could not keep jobs for a long time which is one of the reasons I wanted to become an entrepreneur. These videos have helped me see work as a "trade" for labour vs money. I provide a service and if I am being fairly compensated it should be a quality service. I think about opportunity cost now all the time. I think of myself on a large/longer timeline. I don't seek instant gratification anymore. I understand that If I put it work now it will result in a much larger happiness later (temporary pain for long term gain).
And I think Adrian Hill is amazing! I love her and wouldn't chose anyone else to do these videos... I follow her really well and she speaks very clearly. Plus you gotta love that upbeat attitude.
Anyways, thanks again for making these. If I could donate a million dollars just to ensure that you guys never stop making videos on economics I 100% would! In fact, *if* one day I do succeed in business, and truly make something for myself I would look back and attribute much of that to these videos..... as theyve made a huge impact on my thoughts, habits, and actions which we all know become who we are.
It'd be super cool too if you guys did maybe some videos related to businesses, starting a business, or just general other topics like you did in that one where you talked about "How to know when to stop hiring workers, specialization in making pizza."
It'd be cool to do a video on Lotto tickets and gambling.
This has nothing to do with the video, but I was just thinking that you should totally do a crash course series for computer programming! It would be so helpful since a lot of people would benefit from knowing some basics, but a lot of schools don't offer it.
Yeaaah !
I 2nd this!
I agree! :D I know nothing and it would be very interesting.
Yesssss
+Jane Doe Didn't someone say during the Patreon livestream that they wanted to do this series?
"It's not like most street vendors are set up to use apple pay"...
LOLOLOLOL OMG the year 2016 is so precious
So, when you buy a lemonade from a little girl on the sidewalk, it's black market? Neat. Back Market Lemonade.
Any transaction that isn't taxes or kept track of is black market. Things like paying someone cash to cut your grass, baby sit, or do Any work; granny giving you $50 for your birthday, playing poker (or anything) for money, etc; selling lemonade, drugs, homemade crafts, having a yard sale, etc.... These things are All part of the underground economy and are technically supposed to be accounted for on your taxes or are just illegal. The govt turns a blind eye to most bc it's too hard to track and enforce and pretty much everybody would be guilty but they are technically illegal to do and not report and pay taxes on... And some are just illegal anyway!!
David Belcher I know, dude. I was making a joke. :)
+David Belcher Some activities are illegal by themselves (being defined as illegal by law) like drug dealing or distributing pirated software copies. Other activities are themselves legal, but tax evasion is always illegal. As you said "they are technically illegal to do and not report and pay taxes on", not the activity is illegal, but only not reporting the income made from this activities.
PaiNExoTiC I wouldn't agree with you. For just one example: some taxes are spent on defense. Would be moral that the army or the navy choose not to defend you or your home just because you're not a tax payer? Russian (or chinese) bombs falling on a city would not target only tax payer homes. :)
SlocketSeven Well, technically, any business for which are not paid taxes is illegal and had to be shut down. But local or federal budget won't be hurt if a lemonade stand or a kid showeling show would not pay proper tax. A local bugdet won't sink into destitute if someone do not pay an income tax on 10 or 20 dollars earned. But it's not the same if Exxon, or Microsoft try to evade any tax. There are a lot of money involved,
Something like.. If you owe a thousand dollars to a bank, you have a problem. If you owe a million dollars to a bank, the bank has a problem. :)
And what ever gets sold on Craigslist.
Summary!
XXXII: The Underground Economy
1) Also known as the shadow/informal/unofficial/hidden economy, or black market. When economists talk about the underground economy they are talking about a much wider, less nefarious (like drug dealing, organ black market) group of activities. The informal economy they talk about is all the trade and work that happens off the books, under the table, outside the sight and reach of government rules and taxes - a lot of these are completely mundane (e.g., a nanny or housekeeper’s job).
2) It is estimated to be worth trillions of dollars globally; about 10 - 20% of total GDP in developed countries. In the US the underground economy is probably worth somewhere between 1 and 2 trillion dollars. In developing countries the underground economy often accounts for more than one-third of economic outputs. The international labour organisation says the informal economy also employs half to three-quarters of all non-farm employees in the developing countries.
3) Economist have come up with indirect macroeconomic ways to try and wrap their head around the informal economy.
a. One way to estimate the size of the hidden economy is by looking at the difference between the total income accounting reports and its total expenditures.
b. By looking at the demand for cash - a greater demand for cash in an economy might signal a larger underground economy.
c. By studying electricity usage: electricity is a good indicator of total economic activity.
4) Illegal trade: According to the UN, organised crime is an 870-billion dollar a year business, about one and a half percent of global GDP drug trafficking is a biggest chunk of that - about 320 billion. Others: counterfeiting, smuggling, human trafficking, exploiting the environment (timber trafficking, hunting endangered species)
5) The European Union recently asked member countries to do a better job counting vice in their GDP totals. Spain and Britain also have similar concerns.
6) Because illegal markets are by their nature illegal, they can often be dangerous places to buy or sell.
7) What is wrong (or otherwise) with people doing legal jobs, just working off the books?
Cons: ILO points out that workers in the informal economy don't have the same sort of safety-net (job security and welfare) in place as people who work in regulated jobs. Economists also point out that a big informal economy makes it difficult for the government to get an accurate count of important economic statistics like unemployment and income, which might encourage misguided economy policies. Tax revenues may fall, becoming part of up a negative vicious cycle.
Pros: However it can offer jobs and work where they don't otherwise exist, e.g. during the US financial crisis, where it served as a temporary buffer for individuals, and the economy as a whole.
Leave it to economists to make even the black market unexciting. :P
lol
Black market is boring, unless it's economics. Economics is the only interesting topic.
All hail kek.
Economics is super interesting! You however...
'Sorry sir, but we don't take credit cards '
' How about endangered salamanders"
' ... Why would I take that"
' Because you're technically operating in the black market"
" I think you have misunderstood how that works"
Crypto-currency
I've seen police shut down a little girl's lemonade stand for being an underground economy. Not even joking.
Wtf 😂
+LunarX
I'm guessing that happened in the US and they body slammed the little girl head first onto the ground, choked her half to death and beat her to within an inch of her life, too, right?
Also, I'm guessing she was white, otherwise she would have been summarily executed on the spot and the police given a paid vacation and a commendation.
Nilguiri
I love you.
LunarX
haha. ;)
+LunarX Can't really blame the police for that -- often, they're told to do things like that by the higher-ups and the politicians.
As an ex small time drug dealer i can tell you that the black market is all about trust. You need to trust people before you do business with them. Informal imployment is in a lot of situations better than government work. I made more money than doing honest work. I actually felt more empowered too. Ive also had legal work too like a cashier. I also did under the table landscaping work. Underground work to me was always better because it gave you the ability to negociate with employers and customers. Legal work is like my way or the highway.
I can see what you mean. Though I can think of a few industries that should probably not be under the table.
xenoblad Well in the case of Landscaping, roofing, and construction it is almost a necessity because of how little the workers actually earn. I mean I did a job where I worked for 5 hours cleaning up a yard with one of my buddies (It was backbreaking and there was too much trash) and all I got paid was $15. If you tax that then its 5 hours for $10. I've made more for less work too but the majority is very similar to this.
+Pavel Radev Wow I have to pay $10-$15 an hour for someone to help me do that type stuff and it is usually kids that can't work much more than half as efficiently as I do.
Paul Ewing Yeah I know what you mean. I think I was actually 15 when I had that job. It was a set $30 for the yard clean-up. Me and my buddy split that even. Also it was my buddy's dad who gave the quote. We were working for him. He should have asked for more. Most of the time the workers don't even see the yard until it is time to work. Sometimes it's fair and sometimes you get screwed. What can you do right?
Very true. Trust is the actual basis of economics, not greed.
Crash course is made of awesome
+James Dalpe Pure informative awesomeness!
Wow! Incredibly informing! Once again, you nailed it, Crash Course! I just love this channel. Thank you.
2:11 The grey market has poor old Uncle Sam sweating. lol.
The underground economy is not necessarily bad. It is the result of government regulation and taxes. The more the government tries to control the economy, the more people will evade of such control.
That's a stupid idea. Underground economies grow out of underdeveloped societies where the government is already weak. That's also a major point in this video, that higher developed economies don't need underground economies because there's sufficient employment, resources and institutions.
Thank you, I don't want this course to end
Crash Course sure do make economy a lot more interesting. Learning economy in high school was boring. Thanks Crash Course! (kudos)
Thank you for this very thoughtful examination of the underground economy.
BLACK MARKET LEMONAID, BUY MINE! come on its only 25 cents!
Shake down time I want 24 cents every time you sell a cup.
+mumbles005 lmao I will pay 23 and a half cents for protection.
+JoJo I'll get a gun and shoot anyone trying to shake me down.
mumbles005 Haha. If you kidnap my cabbage patch kid, I'll take out your whole family of cabbage patch kids.
mumbles005 Please, not the Garbage Pail Kids, anything but that.
Trust is the basis of Economics. When trust is lost then we defer to Justice. Regressive Regulation precludes trust which distorts and calcifies normally fluid market relations.
Best, most engaging and clear episode of this series; something about the single presenter format perhaps.
7:28 BAH!!! I'd do it in a pinch on the side of the road (while being extremely careful), but for routine work it is a habit that I'd never want to form. car needs to be on jack stands, not a lifting jack.
The 500 euros bill just stopped being emitted to prevent its use by the Underground Economy (mainly drug dealers and other smugglers).
I'm Finnish I didn't even know there was a 500 euro note
the only crash course eco that i watch
I wouldn't mind owning vending machines on the downlow lol
CrashCourse Algebra! PLEASE!
Algebra is fancy counting. More literally, it is how early businessman wrote down the information for two lines in order to find their intercept. Nearly everything you learn in algebra goes toward that goal, then builds on it so you can also move those lines up and down.
This intersection is important because it helps set the ideal price for goods, the best number of goods to trade at a price, and other happy crap that doesn't help you shopping at Target.
Walmart. Whatever.
There is a special part of algebra called conic sections and logarithm. This is how non-linear lines were made. Like, how fast things grow.
Everything else in algebra is details. Especially rearranging equations. You just gotta figure that shtuff out.
There needs to be an episode of the shadow banking system, mainly about derivatives and swaps. I'd love to see if any economist can justify its huge size.
Of course they can't, would you expect them to be able to justify it?!
+Matthew Greet I'm not an economist (but I play one on the internet): derivatives can be used to hedge price risk. This means that producers (miners, farmers, mid-stream manufacturers) are free to focus on PRODUCTION instead of worrying about price risk.
Example: a forward contract (it is a derivative because the contract terms DERIVE from the price of an underlying asset). Let's say I own a gold mine and that the spot price of gold is $1280. Let's say that my price per ounce of gold produced (actual cash layout) at my mine is $750 per ounce; that's a $530 per ounce profit margin. If I enter into a forward contract to sell my production at $1275 per ounce, then I no longer have to worry about whether the gold price in the near or medium term future will drop below my production cost: I'm free to just operate my mine, which means that I can address issues within my particular skill set (mine safety, maintaining equipment, exploration) instead of worrying about whether I should even be mining in the first place due to price fluxes.
Carlos Lam That explains the usefulness of a derivative but does not explain the usefulness of the derivatives markets' size compared to the world's wealth.
+Matthew Greet Perhaps there are market participants entering derivative contacts without the possibility of settling the contracts.
To go back to my prior gold mining example, let's say my counterparty knows that he will be insolvent if the gold price goes to $1270 but tells me otherwise. This is common law fraud & can be dealt with under current common law principles.
Economists probably would not justify the size of the complex financial instruments in play a the moment. And most agree about their effect on the financial crisis. It is not an economist's prerogative to agree with financial innovation. I don't see the link.
All of these hidden gems
Adriene is so much more fun to watch than the guy, she just catches your attention with her mild smooth explaining and talking, unlike the guy who speaks way too fast and complicated
TL;DR banning things never works, and usually just makes things worse.
+tristikov
It can work.
The thing you ban will most likely serve some human need or desire, and so, if you can substitute that need with something else, then the ban will work.
But taking something away without replacing it is often a ham fisted policy that is bound to fail.
How do they calculate the underground expenditures??
I love learning.
I also love that nerdy emoji.
🤓
Lmaoooo Daredevil at 4:33
omg this vid is FRICKIN LIT!!! luv economics! crash course u rule!!1!!1!
you know what'd be neat?
Crash Course Mythology..?
I support this
You are a Guru!!!!!!!!!!!
It's already there!
@@dukevalentino5967 guru is an english word ?
I heard Mrs. Hill on NPR yesterday! She is so cool!
This video needs to be added to the economics playlist. It is released for several days but still doesn't appear on the list.
Great work of reporting. Very educational. I enjoyed it very much. It made me think and I see it around me everyday!
8:18 -Agree about the negative cycle part as I am seeing it practically everyday. 90% of the employed are in unorganized sector, making only 0.3% of the population tax-payers. This is further forcing the Government to reduce the funds for social security schemes. Corruption, security and environmental problems are also adding to the miseries of the poor. I wonder where this will end, or is there a 'economic theory or model' which can provide a solution
at 2:19 you talk about how you can measure the demand for cash, I was wondering if nowadays people also measure the demand for bit coin?
3:10
Huge? Or YUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGEEEEEE?
Hygueeee hugeeee! Hugh Laurie X-men huge!
Great video!
i guess the tooth fairy buys teeth off of the black market
+xxluigi123 Yes, but the burning question is. What on earth does she do with all those teeth? Is she doing witchcraft with them? Are the fanatics going to have to hunt down the tooth fairy and burn her at the stake?
Janet yes
Hi Adrienne & Crash Course --
Can economists use changes in unemployment rate to help determine the size of the underground economy?
Also, what's the relationship between the underground economy and the government in countries where the underground economy makes up a large part of GDP? Do you think that provides governments an incentive for ignoring illegal markets?
Thanks!
Ben
PS - An intro to development economics video would be really awesome!
+XZDrake Thanks so much for your reply. I appreciate the information!
I have a final essay about thomas de quincey and i would love it if you made a video explaining who he is? His beliefs? Literally everything about him??
+Bash M Who is he if you don't mind me asking?
+Breeze an english author and opium eater
You just made my Spanish presentation on Monday way easier.
very informative, i always enjoy your videos :)
I miss john :(
Me too :(
You guys should do a video on the largest slave trade the world has ever known . The American Privatised Prison Complex ..
+Daves Reality American prison is internment, not slavery. Prisoners are not property. Slaves are.
+Daves Reality The prisoners work to pay for their own living, so tax payers don't have to.
+Rick Apocalypse And someone is making a killing out of it. Otherwise there would be no private prison companys.
The same someone is also lobbying for incarceration to keep his prisons full. Resulting in unneccessary incarcerations for non-violent crimes and - as a lot of pepole argue - an increased crime rate as smalltimers get into direct contact with more "hardend" criminals and find it harder to find legitimate employment after a stint in prison.
You think "tough on crime" is for the benefit of the pepole? Think again. ;)
Bird_Dog Drug related crimes shouldn't be crimes in the first place. That said, all other crimes should make the criminal work during his time in prison.
+Daves Reality That's a great topic and issue but it's not appropriate or entirely accurate to use the word slave in this context.
There is no mention of service industry workers not putting out what they make in tips. How do you measure all cash transactions and tips from someone when a credit card isn't used?
+Henri-Ansel Vallee also the panama papers show that a lot of money is hidden from taxes by corporations and may be brought back into the country through hidden means (bit coin value is increased from this by banks doing illegal things for example).
What does it even mean for an economy to be worth a certain amount? The goods on sale keep changing... does a trillion dollar economy mean a trillion dollars pass through it every year? Or have passed since the beginning of history (that wouldn't seem that much)? Or that its combined GDP is worth a trillion dollars?
+Dracarmen Winterspring I'd also like to know that
You guys should discuss cryptocurrencies.
+Miles Wilson is that the kiwix bird?
+Hagen Torvald It's a Kiwi...
+Miles Wilson They're more interesting in their technical implementation than market consequences. If you replaced all bitcoin transactions with dollar transactions, nothing would change in the economy.
icedragon769 And the first prize for "man who doesn't know what he's talking about" goes to...
+Miles Wilson I agree. Cryptocurrencies were actually relevant this episode
The Bloody Bazaar, The Mall of Maul, The Ivory Interest, The Bestiality Boutique, The Vice Vending Villians. I could go on.
Excellent.
I think, in Paraguay, the informal economy was about 10 times the formal....
The problem here is the use of an Income Tax instead of a Consumption Tax. This is one of the issues it would fix, but the big one is the off-setting of other distortionary effects like the inherent effect Income Taxes have on savings which limit investment.
I'd say the other issue is that replacing an income tax with a sales tax is regressive.
+WisMicYal11 Yes, but that can be fixed through a progressive redistribution program to compensate. Alternatively through a progressive consumption tax, perhaps with goods typically bought by higher income people being taxed at a higher rate, and some goods bought exclusively by poor people not being taxed.
Erik Nielsen Hm, that's interesting. I wonder if there is any research on that; there likely is. I wonder how anyone would decide how to classify products. Thanks for the thought provoking response!
Electricity is NOT a good indicator of the underground economy. It might work in some states, but the ones close to the north or south pole use a whole lot more of the stuff, without being more corrupt. And yes - it changes due to the weather.
You should write to them - I bet they never thought of adjusting it for temperature.
+Rebaum Give me the bag! I'm packing a lunch!
Are you going to do a video on the economics of tourism?
The Underground Economy, also known as the Free Market.
So you are saying the free market leads to serious poverty? Because that's what it mostly does right now.
Fernando Herrera
No, what I'm saying is that most of what is sold as 'free market' these days is very much a captured and command market, licensed and controlled by forces at the OPPOSITE end of where the rubber hits the road (as in government.) It is THAT inefficiency which hobbles economies with poverty, creating barriers to entry and pricing disorder.
Tark McCoy except it's those same forces that make police officers, firefighters, the military, welfare, social security, highways, roads, free education and so much more even possible. You can't make what's important for all to have entire accessible without some effect on the private sector which often produces not what we need, but what some people want.
Products and services deemed necessary would be supported without government. I'll admit that the military makes sense for the government to supply whether it be state-run militias or a standing federal army, but if you think there are no other options other than turning to the government for law enforcement, fire fighters, welfare (charity), social security (retirement), roads or education, you're wrong. Also, nothing is free. I prefer to think of the term "free" as "paid for." At least then it prompts people to consider who is paying for what.
IndyThought some services shouldn't have a for profit aspect. Could you imagine police officers only helping those who could afford it?
maybe governments can stop lining their pockets with tax dollars, spend responsibly and actually do the jobs that they were elected to do the way that it is mandated... oh ya, what was I thinking...
they would if they where adequately monitored and where punished even they didn't; but such an apparatus would probably be more expensive than just doing away with the state.......
+Wayne Shaw The problem with that line of thinking is that it presupposes that the government is one large entity thinking and acting with one mind, when it is in fact hundreds, even thousands of people who all think and act independently. While graft and corruption are serious issues that need to be addressed, generalizing it in such a way doesn't help anything.
+Deism Drake How would you create an apparatus that does so, is presumably state run, and does not have the same issues? One more reason government is untenable in the long run
+Wayne Shaw what an impressive non sequitur; you must feel smart now.
+monkey314159 TROLL!
Awesome as always...!!! tq
Governments need to quit wasting our money.
+ryan wiley yeah at the end she said we could either raise taxes or cut social security, but... no... that's a false choice. We could giving tax breaks to billionaires and getting involved in wars that don't involve us.
+ryan wiley Yeah but that is not really what the topic of the video is about. It is about the underground markets that tend to emerge and what effects they have.
thanks for the video
+Michael Yadchuk
nice first
+supeJC why do you bring this up
+Michael Yadchuk first comment!
Good video; legalizing organ donations is the right decision in my opinion.
This is a very interesting video!
This was great! If love a crash course on tariff TTP/TTIP 😬👍🏼 Apologies if one already exists, Were working our way through all these LOL 😉
Fraggles!! Not to be picky, but it was the Doozers that did all the work in the Fraggle underground. (Love to Thought Café)
Asking if "we want" poor people to sell organs is the wrong question. The question isn't whether or not it makes you feel bad, the question is how it changes THAT person's life. Does eliminating that option make them better off?
***** false. People sell organs because they prefer to have something else rather than keeping the organ.
What is "scary" is irrelevant to whether or not a person consents to it and bears no relevance to the conversation.
I have a question: how do economists value stay at home parents in GDP calculations?
I really like the show, keep up the good work.
+Eric Roux The stay-at-home day care isn't factored into the GDP at all; however, as a result of the stay-at-home day care, the working spouse can (theoretically) work longer and make more $$$, which is factored into the GDP.
+Eric Roux Or if you're really weird, you could file MFS on your taxes and pay (W2) your spouse for the day care. Be advised this is an astronomically stupid thing to do, tax-wise, 99% pf the time.
This was great. Please do an episode on Foreign aid.
i laughed so hard 1:30
+George the hacker why? it's actually true. you should cry
In Portugal informal economy pays much more than formal economy, i would say it pays 2 times more to the works and at the same time delivers much cheaper and quality goods and services.
Not that science will ever agree with economics, but:
Work = Force X Distance (and we aren't paid enough to get out of bed in the morning)
It is, however, quite effective in determining just how far you can push something and to what level of degree.
I've been there and Kowloon is CRAZY!
Govt can try to fight it but will always fail. The War on Drugs is example #1:
A. As govt arrests drug dealers, the supply of drugs decreases.
B. Less supply leads to higher prices (more profits for dealers).
C. The high profits then attract MORE individuals into the drug trade.
D. Repeat the cycle.
+Carlos Lam That is with assumption that there is no barrier to entry to the drug trade. War on Drugs is a failure of course. Though in theory, if you destroy the supply fast enough and raise barrier to entry high enough, the supply will die off eventually.
+area0404 True enough. However, destroying the supply will also raise the price of drugs because -- again -- decreased supply = increase profits. Additionally, even if the ENTIRE supply of one drug is destroyed, other drugs will fill its place (e.g. increased heroin use as a result of tighter opiod prescription regulations).
Carlos Lam I think it depends on how well the government controls the replenishment of supply. Again, US has done a bad job on this. I doubt any country can do a good job actually. However, by diminishing supply, it does open a window of opportunity to slash demand as well (as it is also wrong to assume demand for drugs is unavoidable). US also failed on that front as War on Drugs was not followed by any action to diminish demand.
I think Singapore is a good case study here. We have extremely high penalty for distribution of drugs. It is pretty much always death penalty if you are found guilty of distribution. However, a lot of education and checks are in place as well to educate the masses on the danger of drugs. So Singapore has extremely low rate of drug abuse.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/05/singapore-policy-drugs-bay
I think that you're correct: diminishing demand is the key to reducing drug use, though culturally I doubt it can be done by the govt here in the US. IMHO, only families & local communities -- by establishing expected norms of conduct -- can truly reduce demand.
I always have to pause during the intro slides. To read every little bubble
The guy under the car at 7:32 made me nervous - he really should have a jack stand under the car, not the flimsy car jack. Yikes! Great video, though!
Plenty of people without a penny who obey every rule (except the ones that absolutely require you to be legally making money).
is there any difference, economically, between a black market and a grey one?
also, it would if been nice if you'd of touched on kidney trading, where you have:
Alice and Ben are happily married, Ben needs a new kidney but Alice isn't a match. But Alice is a match for Catherine who also needs a kidney and Catherine's lover Denis who is not a match for Catherine is a match for Ben so Alice gives 1/2 of her kidneys to Catherine and Denis gives 1/2 of his kidneys to Ben. to the best of my knowledge they haven't developed a debt system yet, but do allow for more complicated trades but they only allow trading one kidney for one kidney.
Ese del 6:51 está vendiendo butifarra en Barranquilla, nojoda! :D
basically hustling
Adrien ... will u look into a phenomena called the mandella effect ? its quite topical and out of this world kool
There are two major groups in the "off the books" economy. There are the poor, and there are the criminals. If taxes are the reason that the poor are going "off the books" then you don't get a vicious cycle if you raise taxes on the rich to create a social safety net that has more net than holes. Most of the criminal black market is in drugs. Legalization takes care of that problem completely. The taxes that could be collected would go a long way towards funding the drug treatment programs that might be necessary. Savings on jails and courts would more than pay for the rest.
+Paul Peterson do you mean legalizing all drugs
Brian Moya More or less, at least on the Portugal model for the "harder" ones. It's still illegal to sell them there, but not to take them. That takes away the protection that the dealers get because their customers could then go to the police without being arrested themselves. It massively reduces the problem, gets people treatment, and costs taxpayers far less. OTOH there's probably no net downside to outright legalization of pot, coke, ecstasy and the like.
+Paul Peterson I mostly agree on all of your points i just think you are misinformed about one tiny thing, why poor people work in the "off the books" economy. Poor people do not work in the informal economy because they do not want to pay taxes, they work in it mostly because that is physically the only job they could secure for themselves. The street vendor would love to work in the formal economy if given the chance, he/she would love to get the peace of mind that their paychecks are a secure thing and not dependent on the whim of the people that day; that they get sick days and health benefits, because every day they do not work means that they do not have money for that day. He/she works as a street vendor most likely because of education level and possibly the fact that they do not know the language all that well. Governments should not fight this type of informal economy because it is not as if the people doing it chose this way of life. In fact, Tthey should do everything they can to integrate it somehow; give these people the same benefits that they would get if they are part of the formal economy and in return pay their taxes.
AvatarMaster9x I agree completely. If anyone is avoiding taxes, it is the employer in the off books economy. In these posts however I'm trying to convince Republicans, and they don't think anyone even gets out of bed unless it is to avoid taxes.
Cheers
Ohhey the organ subject that was hit on in my regulatory economy class like...3 weeks ago.
What is wrong with the brick at 4:57?
If you're talking about the concrete color bits in the area that's mostly painted blue I think a good guess is that a balcony was removed and/or a facade was removed, or signs, etc.
Was that the daredevil?
+mike jones Yes.
Integration is the most viable solution, make informal jobs formal as much as possible. Not saying lemonade stand should pay taxes, but integrate the ones that make sense.
Each typically informal job has its own issues associated with it. If it's the sex trade, then it's really about whether people should be allowed to do that. If it's sweatshops, you probably have to have a serious talk about illegal immigrants. If it's yard sales, you'll probably have to find ways to avoid yard sales becoming permanent shops. And if it's people making money from privately cutting people's hair, you have to figure out the rights and rules for doing this.
Let's make that 100%!!!!
Seriously, though, government needs to stay out mass economy, and stick to development.
GOD. Let government spending fall. Less money to corrupt people is always good.
What about the Prosumer. This is a person who produces value in the economy and then consumes what they produce. This used to be 90% of the economy. When people moved into urban areas and began to rely on factories for their income, they became consumers which means that they only consume what is produced by others, but with some corporation in the middle to rake off value. If I grow veggies in my garden and then eat them, I have produced value in the economy but then I consume that value. Now the Prosumer accounts for only a very small fraction of the economy because we have become totally dependent on the producers which are now big corporations and not just people.
Do you have any sources for this video? I would love to read some more about this topic.
Thanks in advance.
Poor people already sell their kidneys, might as well be to someone who gives them anesthesia.
P.S. I am very attracted to the Thought Bubble Presenting Lady.
Idk her voice is annoying
+Elouj Time Reaver we're going to start taking rich peoples' kidneys, with them you can get two for the price of one rich person... as you can take both kidneys since they're rich enough to live on dialysis for the rest of their lives. Sounds like a much more efficient market to me. And yes they will chose just as the poor people chose... both under duress... the poor person's duress is economic desperation to feed and shelter themselves... the rich person will be creative... essentially they'll be tortured until they consent to having their kidneys taken out. So it's is the same type of choice a poor person has.
I do not think torture is even necessary, just keep them in a box without food or sleep, that is the exact same thing poor people go through.
I'm new and I have already seen a few videos but I still can't figure out what do you work as? Or what you studied in university? I would like to follow your lead and do something where I can receive as much knowledge of everything!!!
Thank you
"If you want to know the health of a society, look at the size of its black market."----Jim Rogers
You must know.... the government also charges "indirect taxes".... so even the informal economy is charged with taxes.
are you going to upload more videos? I really like them.
you guys are seriously missing a trick by not putting the link to your patreon page in the description
If you are on mobile you have a little circled i at the top right corner, there you can find the link to their Patreon ;).
+What's Their Name Again? what countryball is that in your profile picture?
+Darius Niederer
The right side is Austria (Central Europe) and the left side is Brittany (a region of France) :)
+What's Their Name Again? Do you think that region of France would be populated with girls of the same name? Because I knew a girl of that very name (so lame, but I just wanna put this out there :P Hi Britanny(s) of the world! XD )
+daedra40
Ahahahah, I don't think so, the French name is "Bretagne" and the Breton name is "Breizh" and neither of them are common first names :p And French people generally don't choose that many English first names for their children (well I've seen some, but it's rare). And I don't think I've ever met a Breton person named Brittany, sorry to disappoint :p.
Great work however the presentation is relatively monotonous! The presenter is requested to take a page from Mr. Greens page!
Btw for anyone that cares, that last part, is exactly why Greece is failing so hard to recover...
+shadowkeeper0 of course it is. Lol. That mountain of debt that the EU won't let the country default on has absolutely nothing to do with it.
4:54 I'm proud of my country
Really? Proud to be the no. 1 terrorist nation?
Never thought that lemonade stands were part of the black market. Imagine a taxman doing 1:30. People would riot, or at least children.
Some things aren't worth going after in the first place, so the stand should be fine as long as it stays small in scale. The people enforcing the law are human after all.