[Iain]

'Discuss the notion of the market in relation to organised crime'

Writing this essay at the moment, covering

-Prohibition
-Gambling (focussing on the US)
-Drugs (focussing on Northern Ireland)
-Arms smuggling
-Prostitution

Any other thoughts would be appreciated, particularly some nice theoretical approaches. This quote from the UN is the crux of the essay 'just as legitimate companies move in to fill voids in the product market, new organized crime groups suddenly emerge where profits are to be made.'

[Iain]

Anyone interested in any sources here are some:

http://www.octf.gov.uk/drugs.cfm

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,615656,00.html

http://people.freenet.de/kvlampe/fpok01.htm - black market cigarettes in Germany

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-157.html - Prohibition

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,2763,874372,00.html - you'll love this one - illegal guns in the UK ;)

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/9821/friedman.php - real nasty piece of work here.

[.45Ruger]

Organized Crime exists because the market exists for a product that is not otherwise available. The simple fact is that if people want something badly enough and are willing to pay for it someone will step in to fill the void despite whatever the law nay state.

In New York the Mafia has been known for years to run all kinds of illigal gambling operations. These enterprises exist because people want to gamble and will find a way to do it.

Prohibition brings to mind pictures of Al Capone and his million tax free dollas a week. Organized crime stepped up almost overnight to supply people with booze. They made vast amounts of money doing it and also killed many others for control of territory.

[jsalcedo]

Prohibition of desirable items is followed shortly by profit minded people ready to cash in on the artificial shortage.

If drugs were legalized The prisons would empty and tens of thousands of
dope, growers, smugglers, dealers, and enforcers would be out of a job.

Tens of thousands of police and administrative folks would be unemployed as well.

A need is going to be filled above the board or in a dark alley. Unfortunately
illicit trade comes with many undesirable side affects.

The war on drugs, illegal guns, untaxed alcohol, cigarettes, prostitution
and unregulated gambling only serves to create a huge black market and huge profits for those willing to risk state sanctions.

Enforcement agencies also profit from prohibition and vice laws due to seizure of assets and cash.

[scbair]

to just "arms" smuggling. One of organized crime's big money-makers throughout the years is simply "smuggling." Cigarettes trucked from NC to NY & NJ, sold on the street without paying those states' high taxes has produced a ton of revenue. Avoiding paying taxes on tobacco products, alcohol, etc. is "good business."

Theft of truckloads of goods ("hi-jacking") is an extension, cutting down the overhead . . .


White collar crime is popular, too. In addition to the traditional "Mafia," consider the Chinese gangs, Russian organized crime, etc. Forgery, healthcare fraud, etc. are highly profitable at minimal risk; the jail time is significantly less than that for "traditional" or more violent enterprises.

[tyme]

Theft of truckloads of goods ("hi-jacking") is an extension, cutting down the overhead . . .
Sorry for being pedantic, but OH doesn't usually include direct product costs. But yeah, their only overhead is the cost of weapons, ski masks... :)

I don't think organized crime is really operating in a free market. They have some influence over the legal system because of bribes or just by having good lawyers. They also have some degree of control over various companies that offer alternative goods, and there's the pesky government-enforced ban on competition for activities like smuggling.

And, of course, businesses that are fronts for money laudering operations are not likely to have cashflow problems, so their competition (restaurants, laundromats) may have trouble staying in business without the support of organized crime.

[standingbear]

organized crime includes EVERYTHING that can turn a profit.racketeering(gambling,prostitution,loan sharking,stolen merchandise...you name it) and theyve found a clever way to do it.if there is a market for it,the crime families seek to control the revenue from it- the head cheese gets the biggest chunk,his under bosses get a split and so on till the revenues reach the street thug or pusher.everybody in that "family" gets a piece of the action as long as theres a need.they have their own enforcers to make sure things are running smoothly too as well as money to burn on lawyers and certain other interests.sometimes they operate out of legit businesses,sell goods at a small loss(lose 100k and launder 800k)the money is divided up,its invested in some other racket or scheme and it goes on and on.reinvesting the money into something else and making more money.this is why its called organized..its organized much like a business-only these guys wont fire you if you mess up.

[Monkeyleg]

With regard to smuggling cigarettes, consider this: a semi trailer will hold 70,000 cartons of cigarettes. With Mayor Bloomberg having driven the cost of cigs up to nearly $70 a pack, hijackers could make a small fortune. Even if they sold the cigs to street middlemen at $10 a carton, that's not chump change for one truck.

[CWL]

St Johns,

I do not understand how you will be able to write a cohesive essay spanning prohibition, gambling, prostitution, arms smuggling (street-level or international?) and Drugs in Northern Ireland?

Wouldn't this jump all over the place and give room for your teach/prof to attack your assertions?

Just want to see you get an "A" ;)

[benewton]

Whoops!

I thought that this thread was about the IRS...

[Iain]

CWL -

Essay is written and as it is the last piece of work I ever have to hand in to that department and it counted for very little I bizarrely found it very difficult to care.

Essentially all I had to argue was whether or not a concept of 'the market' (as applied in economics) applied to the 'business' of organised crime.

[standingbear]

monkeyleg..you hit the nail right on the head.it turns small time peddlers into bigtime street thugs.they supply the things people want ,when through ordinary means, normally couldnt afford or get and then they "organize "and monopolize on it(they try to control the entire business)wallah...corruption everywhere.ban something..itll just creat more business for them.tax something and theyll get it cheaper,make a profit move on to the next scheme until someone is caught and the whole thing falls like a stack of cards.hope it helps.