Jim said

> Beware that which *sounds* too good to be true!

OK. We agree. This piece of good advice (which I agree with) is trotted out
often, usually soon after people have been badly burned by not thinking of
it beforehand.  Let's see if / how it applies to the current argument.

- Will work for (far far less than) food.

- Will work twice as many hours a week as "our" workers for the above income

- Don't expect and / or can't afford health care we would expect as normal
and/or essential. Will tolerate disease rates and mortality levels far
beyond what "we" will.

- Can be replaced from an endless labour pool waiting to take their jobs so
that "supply and demand" pressures do not drive up wages in the short to
medium term.

- Children of almost any age who can do a useful job will be employed to do
a useful job (and paid proportionately).

- Will happily and indefinitely churn out quality products for our use at a
very very very small fraction of the cost that we would do it for (in real
or absolute terms).

Too good to be true?

If not, then please send me your children asap - do I have a job for them!
Hey, at these rates I'll even pay the airfare (1 way)(special conditions
apply).
You can come too of course (is $NZ1 a day OK - we're poorer over here :-) )

Socialist utopia pie in the sky give-them-US-rates-and-conditions-right-now
is obviously unrealistic and unachievable. But what is done now which is
largely driven by what-the-market-will-(for now)-bear is also unrealistic.
There obviously has to be a balance and this is not it. Only those who have
no maker to stand before and no other belief in their obligation to
equitable treatment of their fellow man should sleep easy.

An independent late breaking thought. If we drew a chart with a continuum
between the typical western standard of living and that of the salve labour
workers "employed" by the Nazis in WW2 to produce eg V2 rockets, where on
the chart would you plot the conditions in various "3rd world" countries who
supply Western markets. Would be interesting to do.



        Russell McMahon

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