It looks like you missed some earlier discussion on this
topic this evening.

Would you like to to resend an item or two?

Jim


----- Original Message -----
From: "Russell McMahon" <apptech@PARADISE.NET.NZ>
To: <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 8:25 PM
Subject: Re: [OT]: $1-a-day wages


> 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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>

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