I think it really sucks for the men, women and children in these 3rd world nations that get stuck doing these jobs just so we can pay less for our Nike's and iPhone's. However, if we did pay Americans or Europeans to do the work that these people in 3rd world countries do, then many of the luxuries we have would be ridiculously expensive. However, at the end of the day, these people are still people, and I've always thought that a minimum wage should always be in place so that people can actually live their life as opposed to simply getting by. $0.02
WHAT. ARE YOU SERIOUS. "Ah fuck the world's a bit full, lets just cut out a few million Jews to balance up the place." Holy shit I hope your post was satire.
I watched an interesting video the other day where they had a vending machine selling cheap T shirts, but in order for people to actually buy them they had to watch a video on how the shirts were made (in sweatshops). At the end of the video they were given the choice again as to whether or not they wanted to buy the T shirts. Some lighthearted, upbeat and emotional music played while all these "good people" chose to not buy the sweatshop clothing because they didn't want to support what was going on. The stupid thing being that by not buying the shirts, and by in turn making the sweatshops lose money they could have otherwise gained, you're not actually helping the people working in the sweatshops at all... Quite the opposite, there. They all came wanting to buy these cheap shirts, then didn't because they thought by not buying them they were doing "something" to help. When instead they were neglecting there own desires while at the same time doing nothing/being counterproductive to the cause they were trying to do something for. Needless to say, the fact that sweatshops provide jobs and income can be seen as good, but we all know that the working conditions and child slavery factor is not. Sending a message such as, "Hey, here in first world countries we will no longer purchase clothing made in sweatshops, and make that illegal here until working conditions in other countries are made better", could be beneficial in an ideal world, but the world is pretty much corrupt and terrible everywhere, so that effort isn't going to happen anytime soon.
Oh no definitely I get what you're saying. I've had a discussion in class about purchasing items from a sweatshop and how truly determinant that is to the people working there. If they bought the clothes and such, they'd really make those who worked hard on the items their day and their pay. Honestly, it's really baffling that people approach things so un-intellegently. As for that sentence... yea. It's hard to swallow, but I'd consider their working conditions much better than alternatives. Their conditions are actually getting better with regulations, and hopefully removing child labor can come from it too. But in the end, they make a living where in alternatives they most likely wouldn't and are employed to help themselves or their dependents. That quote, I couldn't say it any better myself.
An interesting, but unrealistic, solution could be to "in-source" jobs. Naturally, this would require the United States to open up more work opportunities, which would drive down prices in existing business. Ideally, this would be a great plan. It would reduce inflation, provide jobs for both United States citizens and immigrants, provide better living conditions (indirectly) for those being "in-sourced", better wages, and could potentially reduce cultural tensions because of the legitimacy of employment such an idea would provide instead of just paying under the table. Obviously though, this is from the standpoint of a United States citizen, so it's kind of an "inside-looking-out" type of perspective.
Off-thread question here. One time I found my friend's wallet in which he keeps about 200-300 dollars. I though about taking like 50 $ and leaving the wallet at his front doorstep. Basically I would not get caught. After thinking about it for 5 minutes, I decided to return the wallet to him. I'm wondering if you guys would take money from someone if you have a very high chance of getting away with it. Also, I find it interesting that even when someone have a guaranteed way to gain profit through a unfair way, we usually choose to not do it. Why does our conscious stop us from doing this, wouldn't taking it be better for ourselves?
sure it'd be better for ourselves but if we do not absolutely 100% need it, we probably do not take things from friends. maybe internet friends, because fuck em right? they'd probably do the same thing to you unless you're really close with em. i guess the reason for not taking things from irl people is, if you do get caught you look like an absolute twat. even taking money from parents is harsh cause what if they need it for something important? i almost took from them once, until i realised the money was for my brothers driving licence congrats. i almost did it again when i realised that he didnt even take lessons. idk man
