Economic and Social Effects of ProhibitionThere are many ways in which the prohibition of alcohol consumption in the United States of America damaged the very economic and social aspects of American culture, which was It was designed to heal. “Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added more problems that it intended to solve.” On January 16, 1920, one of the most common personal habits and customs of American society came to an end. The Eighteenth Amendment was implemented, making the importation, exportation, transportation, sale, and manufacture of intoxicating liquors absolutely prohibited. This law was created in hopes of achieving a reduction in alcohol consumption, which would in turn reduce crime, poverty, mortality rates, and improve both the economy and the quality of life for all Americans. These goals were far from achieved. The Prohibitory Amendment of the 1920s was ineffective because it was unenforceable. Instead, it caused various social problems such as: the explosive growth of organized crime, increased alcohol consumption, a massive murder rate, and corruption among city officials. Prohibition also hurt the economy because the government did not collect taxes on a multibillion-dollar industry. One of the main reasons why Prohibition failed was because it was difficult to control the mass flow of illegal liquor from various countries, mainly Canada. . “Smugglers smuggled liquor from foreign countries and Canada, stole it from government warehouses, and made it themselves.” The new Federal Prohibition Bureau had only 1,550 agents, and “with 18,700 miles of vast and virtually unpoliced ​​coastline, it was plainly impossible to prevent immense quantities of liquor from entering the country.” Not even 5% of contraband liquor has ever actually been caught and seized from the hands of bootleggers. Bootlegging had become a very competitive and profitable market with the adaptation of Prohibition. This illegal shadow economy has fallen into the hands of organized gangs who have overwhelmed most authorities. Most of these gangsters secured their business by bribing immense numbers of city officials. Mainly government agents and people with high political status such as: mayors, judges, police chiefs, senators and governors, found their names on the gangsters' payroll. To some surprise, the consumption... middle of paper... .federal officials to enforce the ban law. Many of those officers found themselves in the middle of exchanging dirty money between them and the smugglers. Tax money was also spent prosecuting captured smugglers. Millions of dollars were spent annually to convict and keep prisoners in prison. Other economic problems were that citizens found themselves “drinking away” their paychecks. These economic problems led to the government not taking in as much money as it could have and spending money in areas that could have been avoided, if Prohibition had not existed in the first place. It was clear that Prohibition had not achieved its goal. The targets, however, added to existing economic and social problems, as well as created new problems that would be important in today's society. Organized crime turned into an empire, disrespect for the law grew, per capita alcohol consumption increased dramatically, city officials fell into the hands of gangsters, and the government lost money. It is obvious that Prohibition was an abject failure in every way. No reasonable measures were taken to enforce the laws, therefore.