Background Information: On January 30, 1942, the Office of Price Administration (OPA) issued an act called the Emergency Price Control Act. This act enabled the OPA to set price limits and ration certain food items for United States citizens in order to manage food resources. During the 1940’s the United States had entered into World War II and needed to supply their army with all of the necessities. In order to have a sufficient amount of resources to supply their army, the United States’ government felt like they needed a better method of conservation other than the voluntary conversation method that was used in World War I (Schumm). The Emergency Price Control Act was the United States’ alternate method of conservation.
Within the Emergency Price Control Act, each family was given war ration booklets containing stamps that could be redeemed with a payment for restricted or rationed food items. The most commonly rationed food items were butter, sugar, meats, cheese, fresh eggs, jam, tea, breakfast cereals and milk. The rationing of such items, created a gap within the economy. There was a growing
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Such items included baby food, Twinkies, laundry soap, cigarettes and cell phones. One can also find thousands of rare products and services that is not usually available within the established markets, in the black market. For example, exotic animals such as gorillas, komodo dragons, and elephants are big sellers in the black market. “Wildlife officials estimated that up to 25 to 30 elephants are taken out of Assam each year and sold to in the illegal wildlife trade” (Elephants). An adult elephant can sell on the black market for $33,841. Some other unique products and services that are sold in the black market are contract killings, fake ids, kidneys, human organs, prostitution, cocaine, heroin, and illegal employment as smugglers, bootleggers, drug dealers and traffickers