In the first chapter of SuperFreakonomics, we write at some length about the economics of prostitution, both among street prostitutes and a high-end call girls.
One of the most interesting aspects of prostitution is that it involves a good or service (or whatever you want to call it) -- sex -- which, when undertaken for free by consenting adults is legal but which becomes illegal when money changes hands.
Can you think of other goods and services that share this trait? Let's also consider examples where money doesn't necessarily make the practice illegal, but at the very least taboo or socially repugnant.
I will put a few more examples below the fold, so as not to ruin the guessing game, but I am hoping you all can collectively expand this list many times over.
A few other goods and services that come to mind: human organs; children (you can put your baby up for adoption but cannot sell it); and -- my favorite, suggested by a smart fellow I met recently -- political favors.
Political favors are fundamentally different from selling organs or prostitution. In the case of political favors (or other forms of bribery and kickbacks), the recipient of the money has a fiduciary duty to someone else. The problem is that the governement official (or whoever receives the bribe) is induced to act in a way contrary to that necessary to fulfil his duty.
ResponderEliminarIn contrast, in the case of human organs and prostitution (what Al Roth calls "repugnant transactions") there is no third party that is harmed. The only reason that such transactions are illegal or repugnant, is that many people are busybodies who want to impose their preferences and will on others.
Divorced and divorcing parents who dispute child custody and visitation
ResponderEliminarHome or online poker
ResponderEliminarSex can go back the other way, though - if you have sex with someone, pay them, and take pictures of it, it's legal again (unless you're underage, in which case it's still illegal.)
ResponderEliminarI guess when you get right down to it, NOTHING is given freely. When you donate an organ (assuming you are alive), you do it because it makes you feel like you've done something worthwhile.
ResponderEliminarIf you have sex with someone, it is because it either makes you feel good/better...or perhaps because you have a need to make someone else feel good/better. Or maybe you know it will give you access to certain things in the future (I'm betting Tiger Woods' lovers will use their 15 minutes of fame as best they can).
We do NOTHING for NOTHING.
As someone pointed out here some time ago, EVEN JESUS, the best there ever way, did it for "the joy that was set before Him." He did it for a reason...one that He thought outweighed the pain of the cross.
So we are in good company when we do something for some consideration, money or not.
However, it being the case that we are doing it for some reason, I don't see why that reason couldn't be money.
The only drawback is that when it's about money, only the rich profit from certain sacrifices. The poor might be able to buy those dishes at my garage sale...but only the rich get the big ticket items like my kidney.
Hey, that's just like it is now! The rich get the really cool stuff while the rest of us make do with the lesser things.
What a concept.
Wagering
ResponderEliminarI'd also like to add child care. There was an article referenced in this blog some time ago about a group of sisters who were esentially caring for each others children and counting this as a job to qualify for welfare benefits. People were outraged that a person would be paid to care for children in their family. But of course, not outraged that a worker at a day-care would get paid to look after other people's children.
ResponderEliminarIt's OK to care for children in your family, but not if money is exchanged.
Security - If the person pays money willingly for protection from mafia or underworld then it is legal, but if the same person pays money under threat to get protection then its illegal...
ResponderEliminarA promise not to reveal embarrassing information (blackmail).
ResponderEliminarPerhaps gambling? It is perfectly legal for an office to have a casino night for a holiday party and give out prizes at the end of the night based on participants' luck during the party, but in most places it is illegal to wager actual money on the same games of chance.
ResponderEliminarGiving gifts--it's still considered socially awkward to give money as a gift while giving an item wouldn't be. (I know a lot of young married couple that would have more use for some $$$ than a waffle maker. So why not just give money?)
ResponderEliminarIP addresses.
ResponderEliminarThe impending exhaustion of IP addresses (there can only be about 4 billion total in IPv4) has been in the news recently, with the assumed fix being to move to IPv6, which would allow for a virtually unlimited supply.
But the truth is that 4 billion IP addresses is plenty. Most of us don't really need our own IP address; many large corporations have thousands of people sharing a single address just fine (using NAT technology). If there were a market where those of us who don't need an IP address could sell to those who do, it seems there would be no exhaustion after all.
But the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority does not allow for that kind of trading...
Political favors in government certainly, but there are many kinds of politics. Money ought not change hands for school admissions, the granting of honors or the publication of news/opinion/research.
ResponderEliminarExchanging money transforms these relationships - and perhaps more importantly, the goods themselves - from sacrosanct to merely commercial. It also follows that commercial relationships and goods are commodities - and these supposed sacred things cannot be accepted by society as anything less.
giving a student a few extra points so that he or she may pass a course.
ResponderEliminarVoting
ResponderEliminar# 8 - "If the person pays money willingly for protection from mafia or underworld then it is legal" - it is still illegal. If you employ them as security guards, and they pay taxes on the money received and salary paid, then it is legal. Then they are not mafia, but security agencies. If you are paying because you want protection, but you have no record of the payment, then it is illegal. It is extortion.
ResponderEliminarGiving (an adult) alcohol, in your home, is legal, but selling him alcohol without a licence is illegal; same goes for other things requiring licencing, such as a haircut or a hot dog.
ResponderEliminarA) personal sex tapes
ResponderEliminarB) homemade food (where vending requires a permit)
Event tickets (varies by region)
ResponderEliminarMany things requiring a license, if you don't have said license (alcohol, guns, medical diagnosis, car ride)
healthcare in Canada...
ResponderEliminarmail order brides - not illegal but socially frowned upon
ResponderEliminarBlackmail.
ResponderEliminarNothing illegal about disclosing (or choosing not to disclose) unsavory facts about someone. But it becomes illegal as a commercial transaction.
Money could make the difference between a copyright infringement and fair use, all other things equal.
ResponderEliminarSomewhat related to sex is marriage. The 'sham marriage for residency/ passport' scheme is outright illegal, but even things like mail order brides fall in the socially repugnant cash transaction realm.
ResponderEliminarRescue assistance: if you see someone drowning, you are free to help or not help. But if you tell her you jump in to save her only in exchange for $50, you are (rightly?) perceived as a jerk.
ResponderEliminarContext-dependent example: partner dancing.
ResponderEliminarIn tango community there is a concept of a taxi dancer - a partner one can hire for the evening for a fee. In Buenos Aires taxi dancers of either persuasion are available, they normally work with tourist dancers (who are often not good enough to get invited to dance otherwise).
However, hiring a partner is frowned upon in other dance communities. A few weeks ago a beginner swing dancer posted on a community forum looking for a partner-for-hire. A lively discussion ensued, with many people weighting in that he should not even consider hiring people to dance with him, but ask nicely instead.
Charity work:
ResponderEliminarVolunteering your time for a non-profit is considered a virtue yet when people learn about employees (most notably the CEO) of these organizations earning anything more than a living wage, people become outraged as if working for free could be a full-time job.
#13, I think when #8 said "If the person pays money willingly for protection from mafia or underworld then it is legal" he was referring to taxes funding police. We pay for police to protect us from organized crime, but if you paid the criminals directly for the same benefit it would be illegal (especially if you withheld the money from the state to do it).
ResponderEliminarDear --aa,
ResponderEliminarWrong (as in incorrect) on both counts. I can think of at least one specific instance of a case where the individual recipient of a political favor has a fiduciary responsibility to someone else and was unknowingly induced to act in a way contrary to that really necessary to fulfil his obligation, I am about to go to the law library to find other similar instances.
Similarly, as far as such so-called "repugnant transactions" are concerned, it might seem as if no third party would ever be harmed. Yet, I know of at least 3 instances where such parties were really harmed wherein it would be wise to refer to such instances as relatively repugnant in the sense that, at the time of each transaction, this was the only way in which the parties could impose their real legitimate will on others without their resistance (in the sense that it was eventually found to be in the others interest to comply.
So, clearly, here is one thing that money cannot buy and does not change as far as wills and trusts are concerned. Thanks for the `free' legal advice. This is just what the doctor ordered in a manner of speaking of needing to remain calm and focused for the purpose of finishing off what I started.
Robyn Ann Goldstein (2009)
giving your friends or family members a simple favor...
ResponderEliminarimagine, for example, if you were to try to charge them for giving them a ride or dinner
According to Steve Cooley the district attorney of Los Angeles, giving somebody pot for medicinal uses is legal, but having a caretaker be reimbursed for their services is illegal
ResponderEliminarAll sorts of things in college athletics. Fine to provide free tuition, room, and board. But can't provide a salary (let's not even get into recruiting).
ResponderEliminarPolitical favors, at least in the US, ARE legal. In fact, there is an entire career-path (lobbyist) depending on that fact.
ResponderEliminarMoney is not the issue; what you really mean is items with monetary value. Whether you pay a prostitute in cash or gold doesn't matter, just as the IRS doesn't care whether income takes the form of cash or trips to the Bahamas.
The same thing is true when lobbyists provide research or services to lawmakers, connect them with donors, etc. Cash may not have changed hands, but something of value did. The lawmaker is now obligated to repay the favor, either through a desire to continue receiving the items of value, or through basic human nature.
Radio play for songs.
ResponderEliminarLegal advice from a disbarred lawyer or an out-of-state lawyer, in a state where the unlicensed practice of law is illegal
ResponderEliminarHow about drugs?
ResponderEliminarLegal from the pharmacy, illegal from the gangbanger behind the supermarket....
In Sweden, it is legal to sell sex, but illegal to buy it.
ResponderEliminarIn Sweden, it is legal to buy a rental apartment, but illegal to sell it.
This is true, and not misleading in the slightest. The law is actually that inconsistent.
(As was noted earlier in the thread, it is perfectly legal to pay for sex if you take pictures, even in Sweden. It is not legal to sell your rental apartment, pictures or no pictures.)
Pastoral care, charity services provided by religious orders who have taken a vow of poverty (e.g. Franciscans)?
ResponderEliminarmarriage, tickets as in scapling
ResponderEliminarThe fire department will respond to an emergency call for free -- even if you're not a taxpaying resident of your municipality -- and would face universal condemnation for charging you for doing so. Same goes for the police department. Volunteer fire departments will respond even if you don't donate to them..
ResponderEliminarAlso, while you can't sell whole blood and can only donate it, this doesn't apply to blood plasma.
So many of these presume that third parties aren't actually involved in a transaction, when they actually are. In fact, that's the fallacy that leads to so many libertarian failures.
ResponderEliminarinternal workplace bribery, e.g. pay your boss to treat you better
ResponderEliminarprostitution and mail-order brides are the extreme, but paying for companionship in general is a gray area; if they're rendering a service simultaneously, it's typically cool (e.g. tour guide, ski instructor), but not paying people just to spend time w/ you
paying for admissions or hiring decisions
paying someone to commit a crime is itself a crime
paying someone to submit a lawsuit may be a crime--I have no idea--but it's certainly repugnant in many cases
paying someone to endorse a product is often frowned upon, especially if the relationship isn't clear
in academia, certain funding relationships raise ethical questions; bribing researchers misrepresent findings to make specific claims or otherwise compromise objectivity is definitely wrong
OH and in the nytimes this very morning 'slum tours' throughout India although not illegal are very taboo...
ResponderEliminarThis applies many favors of many stripes, not just political ones. Wherever someone has both power and discretion, it is acceptable for me to plead for and receive mercy or leniency. If I pay the person instead of simply convincing her with my words, it's a bribe.
ResponderEliminarFirst thing that came to mind was medical marijuana in California. Although donations are made in return for a filled order, California law prohibits dispensaries and collectives from selling for profit. As a result, the culture is more fair-minded and it is widely considered taboo to overcharge customers trying to cope with chronic pain or other debilitating conditions - but there are plenty of others willing to pay a premium.
ResponderEliminarHome made alcohol--you can make your own wine, give it for Christmas, but if you want to sell it, you need to go through all sorts of hoops (same with homemade jam, cookies, etc. in California, at least.)
ResponderEliminarletters of recommendation
ResponderEliminarSelling your plasma is usually viewed as desperate or trashy, while donating blood carries no stigma.
ResponderEliminarIf I donate platelets they can be infused in chemotherapy or other patients, but if I get paid for them they cannot be used in this way.
ResponderEliminarblood
ResponderEliminarHair is a notable exception to the "selling body parts is socially unacceptable" rule.
Official decisions (by judges, cops, pols or purchasing agents). Human tissue (including organs and adopted babies but excluding blood, sperm, hair and eggs). In a similar vein, parents can give their sons or daughters away and marriage, but if they try to sell them, they will probably run into 13th Amendment issues. Things you can't legally do for money without a license: e.g. build a patio cover, give a haircut, poor an alcoholic drink or make a meal. Game meat (e.g. wild fish or venison).
ResponderEliminarA favorable letter of recommendation. A signature (exception for autographs).
ResponderEliminarPoliticians buying elections. It's perfectly legal to spend $1 Billion to get yourself elected but not legal if you offer the money in exchange for votes.
ResponderEliminaryou can't sell unpasteurized milk. . .
ResponderEliminarGambling: the act of generating random numbers (or influencing sporting event results) is not illegal, but having money change hands based on the results often is.
ResponderEliminarAutographs. Kids should be able to get them for free.
ResponderEliminarParking. Not as serious but still stigmatized.
working in another country without a visa.
ResponderEliminarAdd to #26:
ResponderEliminarIn Havana Cuba there are companeras*, jineteras** and outright prostitutes that circulate the club scene. There is a sliding scale but it is unseemly for a companera to ask outright for cash, lest she be thought of as a jinetera or prostitute. There are the male equivalents as well. I don't know if cash exchange is more prevalent for guys offering the same services to single women tourists.
These services are available in virtually all 3rd world tourist destinations and are a significant source of income from tourism.
The grand prize for all service providers is an immigration visa to a 1st world country and a continued relationship with the sponsor is optional once the paperwork is granted.
*companera means comrade but translates as companion. **jinetera means ranger but translates as hustler.
Flu shots in advance of flu season.
ResponderEliminarHumanitarian aid in the aftermath of any kind of disaster.
What about the premium that would otherwise be charged on generators and flashlights (or gas prices) in the aftermath of a hurricane, if it were not for the social stigma against the seller of those items.
Assisted Suicide.
ResponderEliminarTrading through a fee-based advisor (advisor can't charge a commission).
Dear Robyn Ann (#29),
ResponderEliminarAll I can respond to your comment is: "huh???".
Getting back to Dubner's post, my point is simply that there is a huge difference between activities for which payment distorts the recipients incentives so that a third party is affected, and activities for which society deters trade between two willing parties who have gains to trade and no externalities.
Pornography
ResponderEliminarAlcohol (depends on the person)
Snuggies
Good grades
ResponderEliminarACtually lots of things...fortune telling for example.
ResponderEliminarAn untrained, unlicensed spouse taking care of a disabled partner for free (since who would pay them?)
ResponderEliminarThe same untrained, unlicensed spouse taking care of the partner and getting paid through Medicare.
The Catholic Church famously sold indulgences, allowing one to sin. This, among 94 other reasons, kicked off the Reformation. So I would say selling sin, especially when a religious/moral authority, would fit.
ResponderEliminarAdoption: child = good. Legal when done through what society deems an appropriate agency (seller) but illegal when money exchanges hands through private parties. Not exactly "free" legally, but still a supply/demand service, much like organ donation/selling.
ResponderEliminarThe more it is related to true nature, the thing in question will be regarded as (by social norm/law) non-tradable. For example: air from the sky, water from the river/ocean, sex by natural instinct etc etc.
ResponderEliminarA lot of these are not accurate. For example, you don't "give" good grades - you evaluate someone based on their performance. Also, scalping is not scalping unless you charge more than the face value of the ticket. if you charge less, it's okay.
ResponderEliminarThe true answers are generally charitable/humanitarian gifts such as blood and organs. Other examples are areas where you need to be licensed to do it, such as counseling, teaching, legal advice or (in at least one state) interior design advice.
Votes (in politics)
ResponderEliminarBlackmail (silence)
Medical advice without a license
Alcohol without a license
haircuts without a license
(food without a license?)
Rebroadcast of MLB & other sporting events
Suppressing damaging personal information. In exchange for money, it is blackmail and it is illegal. If done for free, it is legal.
ResponderEliminarIt seems perfectly OK to allow it since both sides to the transation win: one gets damaging information suppressed, the other gets cash...
Ronald Coase has a nice economic take on the issue in an article in the Virginia Law Review, May 1988. The idea is that allowing this exchange creates incentives to engage in a costly activity--looking for damaging information--for redistributive purposes.
Medical research is quickly becoming like this. Any monetary reimbursement other than nominal travel and time reimbursement is seen as unethical and coercive.
ResponderEliminarPaid sex is not illegal per se. It is illegal in many counties but it is legal in others.
ResponderEliminarAmong other things that are legal (socially okay) to give away for free and illegal (socially not okay) to sell are electronic copies of movies, music, books, etc. In other words file sharing for profit is illegal in most countiries but it is okay to do it for free. US is an exception from that.
Another, may be not perfect example is the tipping. In some cultures accepting a tip is seen as a bad thing while in others it is not just okay but mandatory.
Another culturally dependent example: in countries where health care is public paying extra (under the table) to a doctor is a crime.
Helping students pass an AP test. Corporate money is being offered to some school systems to create the following system: Students who get a 3 or better on the AP exam get $100 or so, and their teacher's also get a bounty for each such score.
ResponderEliminarFeels dirty, which is why teachers in our town said "no".
@71 Cory, just because they are conditional doesn't mean they don't fit the examples we've been given. Sex isn't given unconditionally either, for example. Yes, good grades are earned but so might political favors be earned or the right to adopt a child (through behavioral assessments, financial security, etc.) Requirements on giving or receiving these things seem pretty similar to the requirements for something like good grades. It's like a social contract that involves fairness in some way.
ResponderEliminarFriendship comes to mind (not illegal, but socially repugnant).
ResponderEliminarOther than paying for the friendship itself, I think any situation within a friendship where the social contract between friends forbids payment. You wouldn't pay for a conversation, say, or for a friend to spend a night on the town with you. You wouldn't pay for them to be the best man at your wedding, though you could pay for their plane ticket/tuxedo/hotel. You generally wouldn't pay for a lift, though for a road trip or a long drive (or say, a ride to the airport, where you're saving them an expensive cab fair) you would be expected to pay (or help pay) for gas. If there is some emergency involved (medical emergency, your house burned down, your car broke down...) then there's more stigma.
But for some of these, the stigma, the social repugnance is probably highly variable. Though I wonder how commonly asymmetry exists: e.g. I would pay a friend for a ride to the airport, but never ask for payment. That formulation is probably common and easier to test for than "I wouldn't pay a friend to do this, but would expect to get paid..." How many people are willing to admit they are jerks when the questions are next to each other on a survey?
Childbirth.
ResponderEliminarPlaying college football (or any other university-sponsored sport).
ResponderEliminarCollege recruiting in sports falls into this catagory - you can give a "free" education and promote your university but the idea of paying these players who generate millions of dollars for the university is considered illegal and distastful.
ResponderEliminarNote most scholarship palyers at major universities recieve stipends but the NCAA regulates the amount and they all must be equal.
Grades in school; Good deeds to get into heaven (unless you're Catholic); betting on sports (in some cases); getting police help; paying to get into an institution (college, golf group, etc.--morally repugnant unless you're a rich white male)
ResponderEliminarStray cats. If you find them on your property, you can give them away, but in many cities, it's illegal to sell them (probably due to the over-population -- the last thing the cities want is to create an incentive for people to breed more of them).
ResponderEliminarTaxation without represntation (or the original
ResponderEliminarconcept anyway).
Foie Gras, illegal to sell in a lot of cities/ countries; however it is legal to serve it "on the side" as part of another dish.
ResponderEliminarIf I put a bandaid on a kid's skinned knee, that's fine; if I charge him for it, I'm practicing medicine w/o a licence. Same as many above--there are ALL SORTS of things that you can't accept money for without a licence.
ResponderEliminarAlso--I woulnd't consider doing housework for money quite down to the 'socially repugnant' level, but it's certainly looked down upon more than just doing your own housework.
A lot of people wouldn't sell their blood but they'd donate it.
ResponderEliminarFriendship, or friendship style activities. I guess you can pay someone to go to a football match or a movie with you, but it's not the same as if you don't.
There are toll roads, but I don't think that the public would accept tolls on all roads.
Footpaths in parks and sidewalks.
Would people pay to go to church? I guess if there is a charge it's not really a religious thing anymore.
Seems like there's two types of things that money changes: personal ones that individuals should value more than money and public ones that everybody should have a right to without having to pay.
What about paying someone to be friends with someone else? or have sex with someone else?
@aa: In the case of prostitution there is a third party who is often harmed. The wife of the John. Not only is her husband stepping out on her, but he's spending her money.
ResponderEliminarEven if he isn't married or in a relationship, his behavior with the prostitute seems likely to adversely effect his future wives or partners.
Lets also not forget the fact that Johnny boy is more likely to be receiving and then transmitting VD's than someone who doesn't visit a prostitute.
Only SEX I guess .
ResponderEliminarEven the other example given by You, ChIldren, may not be an appropriate one since adoption and selling is for two different purposes. Selling is usually for child labour while adoption is for raising the child. Two different purposes
two consenting adults and two adults based on a promised sum ( prostitution as we call it ) is still for just one thing , sex.
Playing sports badly--money transforms the act into throwing a game (which is illegal or just unsavory, depending on the context). This is distinct from betting on sports--in this case we're talking about the players being paid to play below their abilities, rather than spectators betting among themselves.
ResponderEliminarWatching a dvd with a group of friends, ok.
ResponderEliminarCharging money to let them see your dvd, a crime.
Sampling music for art, ok. (I think)
Sampling music for pop song, illegal.
I suspect copyright law is full of this sort of stuff.
Admission to Graduate school !
ResponderEliminarActs of good citizenship towards a stranger, e.g., running in front of a car to save a child, pulling over to help a stranded motorist, giving directions, holding doors open, giving up your seat on a train or subway.
ResponderEliminarParents paying people do things for their children that the kids would probably prefer the parents did themselves, e.g., picking our presents, attending after school performances or games, providing emotional support or therapy
The flipside is that we expect in most cases to make a payment for goods and services, and are uncomfortable even embarrassed in getting stuff for nothing.
ResponderEliminarAs an economic transaction getting something for free with no requirement or expectation of payment, and no penalty for not making some form of return should be a winner everytime. But it isn't.
Since we see the value of something in terms of what we have paid for it, if we get something for nothing then we see it as having no value.
Except for the things we see should be 'free' like sex where we invert our view and see sex supplied for a fee as not as desirable as having it free.
The entire environmental arena. For example, EPA regs on lead, asbestos, radon etc require expensive training and license if compensation is involved. If you're the owner or employee of the owner, they'll send you free lead and radon test kits. You only need send a bulk sample to accredited lab for asbestos.
ResponderEliminarEndorsement of a product or service through a "News" channel. If Katie Corric starts extoling the virtues of her TiVO on the 6:00 news, we better not find out she's been getting regular checks from them!
ResponderEliminarSimilar to homemade food, homegrown eggs from backyard chickens. I can give mine away but if I sell them I would be in trouble--have to have my "poultry industry" inspected, licensed, etc.
ResponderEliminarRe: #88
ResponderEliminar"Lets also not forget the fact that Johnny boy is more likely to be receiving and then transmitting VD
In the UK, surrogate motherhood - reasonable expenses (monitored by court) can be paid but no 'wages'.
ResponderEliminarIt may be somewhat trivial, but goldfarming in MMORPGs. In online games it's perfectly normal to give new/lower level players (usually friends) money or nice equipment that you are too high level for anymore. However, selling in game gold, equipment, or even whole characters is frowned upon and often banned by the game rules.
ResponderEliminarServing alcohol without a liquor license.
ResponderEliminarOrgan donation.
ResponderEliminarMeat obtained by hunting, at least in the U.S. You can eat it yourself or give it away, but you cannot sell it.
ResponderEliminarHere is a prospective idea (not actual practice): Due to budget cuts the snowplows in Minnesota didn't work overtime to clear the roads in yesterday's snowstorm. How about a mobile app that lets you order your personal snowplow to clear your projected route for a fee. If enough people call for the same route they'll have clear roads whereas the cheapskates end up in the ditch.
ResponderEliminarFixed games, it says everything.
ResponderEliminaren.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sox_Scandal
Unfortunately I never "have sex" nor have I been "with" a prostitute, but I would infer that what is traded in sex with a prostitute is not sex, sex is just the conduit or vehicle. What is exchanged is mutual humiliation or something very similar.
ResponderEliminarSchool admissions. Conspicously donating to a school may help the applicant's cause, but giving money directly to the admissions officer is at best socially repugnant and likely violates policy.
ResponderEliminarDear _aa;
ResponderEliminarSerioously--What's the huh about? You made certain supposedly fundamental claims and I countered with claims at odds with yours of which I have examples that warrant the thought that yours are not fundamental after all?
As to examples of what money does not change-- when you really care about someone i.e., love, respect etc etc.-- money definately just makes everyone more relaxed (if you did not have enough before)--but as far as changing things-- only for the better-- so not everything..
Giving presents is similar. While gifting money is not illegal, it is frowned upon, considered inappropriate in many cultures. Gifitng ties and sweaters, while economically inefficient, is the socially accepted way.
ResponderEliminarThanks to the authors of Freakonomics, I came to understand the real significance of the fact that, when it comes to science, there is one thing that money cannot buy-- an original idea. While it is true that an idea in science comes (not when you want it to), but when it does (and it is not just a matter of hard work (Weber, 1918) as we have been encouraged to believe in the book the Outliers), from that standpoint, at every step along the way of carrying out a study to determine whether or not it is correct or not-- one hits glitches that need to be worked out. I may set a deadline, but it's an ideal one- that-once one has a handle on a problem- one can come close to-- but as close as is possible. I just passed my first deadline so it looks like I will be a bit late-- considering my dislike of deadlines--not bad. In any case, I wish again to thank the authors for the complement in writing- there is nothing like a bit of real encouragement when it comes to finishing such a task and it makes for a wonderful story-line and Hanukah gift free of charge..
ResponderEliminarSincerely, Robyn Ann Goldsein (2009).
You can "give away" sex for free, but if you charge for it, it's prostituation in most parts of the world.
ResponderEliminarWild-caught game can be killed and eaten but not sold commercially in most of the US.
ResponderEliminarPorn is legal because a third party pays both individuals to have sex, while prostitution involves one paying the other.
ResponderEliminar#30 "giving your friends or family members a simple favor
ResponderEliminarI would't compare it with free sex, but with rape.
ResponderEliminarInterestingly, cash for sex is forbidden by government. But should a man and woman be married, the same government will enforce wealth transfer in the form of spousal support after the divorce... implying there is something fiscally intertwined about an intimate relationship. No sex, the marriage is annulled, no spousal support. Add sex, the marriage is consummated, enter spousal support. So apparently the government is fine with sex for money, just not on an ad-hoc basis.
ResponderEliminarThanks Shrey...
ResponderEliminar"Healthcare in Canada" is easily the most genius comment in this thread.
its all really very simple...in life, its not the WHAT that matters, its the WHY! if you have children and you put them up for adoption, there is nothing wrong with it because your reasons are noble - "morally accpetable" - to society i.e. you are trying to help other poeple experience the joy of having children. so the WHY is acceptable. if you put the same kids up for adoption, this time in exchange for money, then your reasons are different - you are trying to make a profit! you are still giving up the kids so the outcome is the same as before i.e. the 'WHAT' is the same but the WHY is now different. in this case, making a profit off of adoption not socially accpetable. the same could be said for having sex with a stranger. if you both walk away afterwards, there is nothing wrong with it because society assumes that you had sex because you "liked" each other. that is a morally acceptable reason. if on the other hand money exchanges hands afterwards, society assumes that the sex was not because you liked each other but was for the monetary reward. this is not a morally acceptable reason so it is illegal. again, "WHAT" happens is the same in both cases but what makes it acceptable/unacceptable ( hence legal/illegal) is the WHY.
ResponderEliminarA pattern is emerging from all the answers. What's perfectly legal to charge for if you're already very rich may be punishable by prison time if you happen to very poor.
ResponderEliminarExamples: You can pay a wealthy lawyer a large sum of cash to find a child and arrange an adoption. But you can't legally pay the child's parent who likely needs the money more.
If you need a kidney transplant you will pay a surgeon a great sum of money. You may not pay the donor who is likely poorer than a surgeon.
If your senator votes for a new bridge because he thinks it is needed its OK. Pay him to help make the same decision and its something else.
ResponderEliminarLegal advice, if you're not a licensed lawyer.
ResponderEliminarLending money (i.e. usury) under shari'a law.
Health care in Canada is incorrect - nearly all health care in Canada is provided by private entities. The bill is paid by the government. It is rare for health care providers to work on a pro bono basis.
Illegal when payed for:
ResponderEliminarsex, sports losses, unlicensed alcohol distribution, politics, games of chance.
Legal, even when paid for:
BAD ADVICE about sex, sports, illegal alcohol distribution, politics, or games of chance.
Legal, even when paid for:
Real estate, legal and financial services, engineering work, medical work.
Illegal when paid for;
BAD ADVICE about real estate, engineering, legal or financial services, engineering work, or medical work.
Hosting a poker game (or pretty much any other form of gambling that is immoral or competes with Lotto), at least in NY. Legal for free, illegal if you charge for the service.
ResponderEliminarI particularly like the comments that say "blackmail"! Nice!
ResponderEliminarAlso, the comment that said "sex becomes legal if you pay someone to have it with you and then make a video out of it" (i.e. pornography) brings up an extremely interesting point. Hmmm. Did not notice that before!
Actually, prostituion is only illegal in some parts of the world (notably Saudi Arabia, USA [except some places in Nevada]).
ResponderEliminarProstitution is legal in many pars of the world,for example in Germany. AFAIK the prostitute may even sue the punter for payment and gets social security benefits - oh - and it is taxed too ;)
However, prostituion is regulated, you may only solicit on certain streets at certain hours and you may put your brothel only into the less desirable parts of town (even though the legales concerning the choice of brothellocation surely doesn't state that.
Discounted company store purchases. I can purchase goods from my company store and give them to friends, or sell them at-cost, but company policy forbids selling for a profit, punishable by termination.
ResponderEliminarlegal or medical advice:
ResponderEliminarone can offer an opinion but if you get paid you need a license.
prostitution is more a money maker for law enforcement than it is for the sex industry...
ResponderEliminar