When someone hears of the term “Black market”, the mind certainly clicks to something illegal. This perception is undoubtedly true because black market refers to the illegal selling and buying of goods and services. In many countries, this form of business has taken complete reign of the economy as in most cases; the tycoons and the middle class individuals are the ones who are involved. Though different from the free market, the gap between the private (black market) and the public (free market) is wanting because the former seems to be in control. The saddening outcome is the fact that, the burgeoning of the black market affects the economy as well because these private business owners who evade the paying of taxes.
Schlosser, a bestselling author and a well renowned journalist, in his book, “Reefer madness- sex, drugs and cheap labor in the American market” takes us through a series of things that happen beneath the famous America. According to Schlosser, a large percentage of the American population consists of those people involved in deals that are against the government laws. This is a clear indication that the government has failed in its firm reinforcement of the rules and regulations that control people in America. He specifically looks at selected areas of interest which include use of illegal drugs (marijuana), pornography and the presence of illegal immigrants. Having written the book “A Fast Food Nation” which was looking at America as a country that wants good things in a quick way by comparing it to a hamburger, Schlosser has come out as a critical and investigative writer. In these two books, it is clear that he has done a comprehensive research on the American country because what he actually points out is what really goes on in the underworld economy.
He looks at America as a two faced country by examining the presence of the two kind of markets; the black market and the free market. The mainstream and the underground America make the country in whole and ignorance of the underground world is hypocritical. The American people cannot deny the fact that they love to smoke Marijuana and as long as one is over 12 years, you must have smoked it at least once in your life time. Despite this, Marijuana is treated as an illegal drug like heroin and cocaine. According to statistics of the American history rated for 5 years, no person has ever been reported dead due to its intake. This is indeed ironic. Therefore, reefer is the major concern of Schlosser’s argument over the illegal drugs consumed in America. The controversy brought out is the idea that the minority and poor consumers are the ones who end up being jailed, yet, there are many middle class individuals who cannot do without consumption of marijuana.
According to the law, reefer is prohibited. However, people especially addicts are slaves of the drug thus would do anything to have it. The court sentence for taking Marijuana in America is life imprisonment which is contrary to a person who has committed murder whose sentence is usually prone to release on parole. Mark Young, an Indiana, was accused of having sold 700 pounds of Marijuana and the prosecution recommended that he should serve a life sentence behind bars. Looking at this critically, it is inhumane for one to be condemned to a life sentence without being granted parole for taking drugs whilst a person convicted of murder is jailed for 11 years and 4 months (Schlosser 28).
The second subject that he looks at is the use of illegal immigrant workers. The business of getting migrants to work for Americans with big plantations has remained a thorny issue. In most cases, the immigrant workers are mistreated by being underpaid. However, push factors from their countries of origin ensures that they keep on increasing. The illegal business has been perfected in California and the laborers are Mexicans who prefer the wages they get there than being in their own country and suffering all their lives. Schlosser comes across a young man aged 18 years called Francisco who works for 12 hours a day, squats everyday on the ground to sleep in a 5-by-7 foot shack just to save $800 in four months in order to send the money to his family back in Mexico. Another exploitation that the illegal immigrants undergo is the lifetime indebtedness that they end up in after what the Americans term as sharecropping is imposed on them.
The poor laborers end up incurring the costs of the risks involved in planting because they are responsible for hiring the workers and making sure the crops are in good condition. Most of the crops harvested are of high value, with strawberries being the most harvested crop as much as planting them puts one at risk incurring losses as they can easily be washed away by heavy rains. To avoid a likelihood of too high losses, strawberry owners results to underpaying the laborers and imposing on them the idea of sharecropping. This is another form of inhumanity since those involved in this business oppress innocent beings and despite all these, no authoritative measures are taken against such brutal acts. The hunger for free labor makes American to ignore injustices which brings up the question, is it really fair for the world’s economic giant to have some of the most mistreated workers?
Finally, there is the issue of pornography that Schlosser critically examines. Using an example of a former bookseller who discovered that people bought a lot of sex magazines, Reuben Sturnam started the pornography industry by building an empire specifically for the booming business. The main problem with him was the fact that he evaded paying of taxes and therefore, he became a wanted man and he took people in circles including Richard Rosfelder, an investigator. When he was finally caught, he was taken to a prison with minimum security but later died. This is ironic in relation to a society which is expected to abhor immorality and yet the main reason for them imprisoning Sturman was because of the issue of not paying tax and not the illegal practice of sex (Schlosser 324).
Although it is true that Schlosser tries to bring the underworld activities among Americans, arguments in relation to the black market are insufficient because there are many illegal affairs that happen underneath America like human trafficking and trading in more dangerous drugs than marijuana such as cocaine. His general look at the private market is inclined to the issue of inhumanity in America. The hunger for cheap labor is also as a result of inhuman tendencies in America. Then, looking at the conviction of Sturman due to the evasion of tax is a clear indication that Americans value money more than humanity.
Works Cited
Schlosser, Eric. Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market. California: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2004. Print.