the economic value of honesty

Imagine.

We are in a wet market, a palengke. Though the tinda are there, there are no tinderas. Only sukis and the parokyanos.

The sukis get the fresh fish and puts it in the weighing scale. Upon knowing the weight, wraps it and pays accordingly by putting it on the jar, getting change if she has one, and leaves.

Now, the situation is weird. But if the system and all the actors are honest, we are better off. Serious.

If all the suki and the mamimili is honest, why would there be a need for a bantay? If there is no bantay because the mamimili is honest, then the money that was suppose to be paid by the may-ari to the bantay for pagbabantay goes straight to the may-ari as profit. But because our current situation is that the mamimili is dishonest, then the may-ari will be prompted to hire and pay for a tindera.

And because her profits has dwindled, there are two things she can do.

One, "cheat" the weighing scale to show the heavier weight than what is the truth. This option will prompt the government to hire inspectors to ensure that the weighing scales used by the tindera and the may-ari are honest. This in return will force the government to use the taxes it got from the same mamimili, the same tindera and the same may-ari for ensuring honesty which effectively robs the very children of these mamimili-tindera-may-ari, the reason why they work (and cheat) mind you, a better education which these children rightly deserve because they are the only ones honest in this system.

In essence, when we are dishonest - we actually pay for it with aggravated interest. We put our future and our children at a disadvantage.

Or two, the may-ari is forced to sell more which in return will force the fishermen to fish more by going out longer sa laot or by using illegal ways like cynide or dynamite. This again will prompt the government to use taxes and so on. This will also deplete our natural resources which again will prompt our government to use taxes and put all our children at a disadvantage.

And the cycle can be extended even further because we also know that our government officials are not all saints.

Bottomline, if we think nakaisa tayo because tuso tayo, think again. We pay, with aggravated interest, for our propensity to be dishonest.

When, oh, Lord, do we start to see that everyone is my brother and my sister...

"... why think like mere men?"