"When we buy inexpensive shoes or t-shirts or plastic toys are we indirectly exploiting the poor who made the product for a relative pittance?"
I’m not going to say these workers are never unjustly exploited, but “relative pittance” often reflects the assumption that people everywhere should make the same amount of money for unskilled labor… which is an idea that should not be assumed. It requires proof. In many of these places, the “relative pittance” is a substantial income in the local economy and the locals compete aggressively for the chance to get one of these jobs.
But since so much of what we own is made in China… I’m not really sure what to think of that particular case!
But since so much of what we own is made in China… I’m not really sure what to think of that particular case!
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
This was a well-written article handling a touchy subject. A rising tide lifts all boats. $3/hr. is not much to us, but to someone in a Third World country, it is a substantial income which benefits them and their family immensely. Slave and child labor are another matter, and should be condemned, but too many Americans assume that a $3/hr. job is the same thing as slave labor, but it really is not.
No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the LORD. Proverbs 21:30
When we can send $3000 to another country to buy a plot of land and build a church out of cinder blocks with a tin roof, are we being stingy? Should we send 1.3 million dollars to a third world country so that they can build a church complete with stained glass windows, cushioned pews, and decorative statuary? No- it would be inappropriate and would probably start a war. I love America and if I ever have to leave it will be kicking and screaming… but we do sometimes have a very narrow US-centric view of life on this planet.
We can do the best we can to make sure our money doesn’t support companies that use unethical practices, but I also don’t think it a prudent use of time to research all the manufacturers and distributors in America and agonize over what brand of toilet paper to use. I’d never get anything else done, and I’d probably have to go buy a flock of sheep so that I could weave my own material to make all our clothes. Yikes.
We can do the best we can to make sure our money doesn’t support companies that use unethical practices, but I also don’t think it a prudent use of time to research all the manufacturers and distributors in America and agonize over what brand of toilet paper to use. I’d never get anything else done, and I’d probably have to go buy a flock of sheep so that I could weave my own material to make all our clothes. Yikes.
…prudent use of time to research all the manufacturers and distributors in America and agonize over what brand of toilet paper to use. I’d never get anything else done, and I’d probably have to go buy a flock of sheep so that I could weave my own material to make all our clothes. Yikes.
And then there’s the problem of how to make your own toilet paper.
Judging by how many other countries get it wrong (100% of those I’ve visited so far), it must be really hard to make the stuff right! (Good TP really is the pinnacle of advanced technology.)
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
[Aaron Blumer]…prudent use of time to research all the manufacturers and distributors in America and agonize over what brand of toilet paper to use. I’d never get anything else done, and I’d probably have to go buy a flock of sheep so that I could weave my own material to make all our clothes. Yikes.
And then there’s the problem of how to make your own toilet paper.
Judging by how many other countries get it wrong (100% of those I’ve visited so far), it must be really hard to make the stuff right! (Good TP really is the pinnacle of advanced technology.)
Next week on the New York Times Bestseller List: The Physics of Toilet Paper by Aaron Blumer.
i think coffee (and perhaps tea) is an example of a slavery issue. if you google fair trade coffee you’ll find info.
that said, i’m not sure i like this article in that it doesnt seem entirely researched. i agree that a pittance salary is a good salary often—my parents in africa are proof of this. But how is a person to know that a $3 salary is a good salary in x country? requires a bit of research. i say this b/c we’ve had national friends (here in ukraine) who are supported as national missionaries for a pittance—and that’s about all it is here, too. Sure htey dont need as much as an american missionary, but their salaries are a joke, too.
anyway, my peice :)
that said, i’m not sure i like this article in that it doesnt seem entirely researched. i agree that a pittance salary is a good salary often—my parents in africa are proof of this. But how is a person to know that a $3 salary is a good salary in x country? requires a bit of research. i say this b/c we’ve had national friends (here in ukraine) who are supported as national missionaries for a pittance—and that’s about all it is here, too. Sure htey dont need as much as an american missionary, but their salaries are a joke, too.
anyway, my peice :)
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