Pogs, surgeries and consent

I've been trading since I was a kid. Whether it was hockey cards, recess snacks, Magic cards, Pokémon cards or pogs, we were always trading something.

There was a tacit understanding that the buyer-beware policy applied when making a trade. But it was also understood that it was bad practice to take advantage of an ignorant trader. No one liked situations where a kid went home to boast to their older brother about a trade, only to hear he'd been duped. It inevitably led to a big argument the next day: "I didn't realize the card I gave you was so good. No fair — I want it back."

Should a kid who unknowingly trades away a valuable pog be able to undo the trade? This was one of the tougher ethical questions we dealt with on the playground. You shouldn't make a trade if you're not sure about it. But on the other hand, if you didn't understand the trade you were making, how can you consent to it?

Cross-border taxation

The last North Dakota town along the interstate highway before hitting the Montana border is Beach. Along the highway leaving Beach, there is a billboard reminding Montana residents who purchased cigarettes in North Dakota that it is the law for them to pay the Montana cigarette tax — it urges consumers to "do the right thing" and pay the tax.

It seems that Montana's cigarette tax is almost four times greater than North Dakota's ($1.70 per 20-cigarette pack in Montana vs. 44 cents in North Dakota). Thus, it's not far-fetched to think that some enterprising Montana smokers might stock up in Beach to save the tax.

Ethics of returning classified documents

I found a McMaster student union executive's folder in the desk in my econometrics class this afternoon. I know it belonged to the executive becuase I opened the folder and his business card was in the front. When I opened it, I noticed a letter about a student union personnel matter that was obviously supposed to be confidential.

Without thinking about it much, I returned the folder to the executive's office after my class. But when I mentioned the folder to a friend of mine who works at the McMaster student newspaper, he said the newspaper had been trying to find out details on the issue in the letter, and noted the folder would have been a great story if I held onto it.

But as a journalist myself, did I do the right thing returning the documents?