AFP reported that one of Apple's biggest Chinese subcontractors Hon Hai Precision Industry Co raised monthly factory wages in Shenzhen by up to 25% to 1,800-2,500 yuan ($254-$397). In an unrelated article, the WSJ argues that the rising wages in China are going to complicate the Fed's inflation policies in the future. The U.S. imported $399 bn in Chinese goods in 2011. We could end up with stagflation in the future.
Why do we have occupy-Apple protesters pressuring Apple to stop exploiting Chinese workers and to raise their pay? Don't we want to pay as little as possible for the goodies? Where are the occupy-Saudi-Aramco protesters demanding to pay more for Saudi oil?
What about occupy Ritz-Carlton for exploiting maids? And, what about occupy the U to pay higher tuitions and to end the exploitation of college professors...?
Want one hundred slaves? Then go shopping! Just don't buy goods from labor exploiting countries. The workers rights camps may have too much time on their hands. They may be just completely unemployed at the rate they are going. Obama can not get support from the American (Backbone) and is gong to cater to Unions more this time around.
ReplyDeleteLabor is an input of production and not an input of humanity. Population growth will only make the problem worse. Demand for leisure in Europe in America is so disproportionate to China it is the tortoise and the hare. Or is it the Dragon and the Dungeons and Dragons? As for Stagflation in the US, watch out. Since Volcker is back in action why don't we have him just replace Bernanke.
An argument I've been developing about this:
ReplyDeleteHigh demand for textile production in China allowed producers to pay more than the opportunity cost to fishermen and farmers, who therefore moved to cities to work in the textile industry, because they were paid more than their previous job. This has allowed the population as a whole to raise their income levels and because of proximity to others and increased wealth, get more education. The better education access has supported the working class to raise it's standards about their rights. This is creating the environment for increasing worker riots across China, as the people fight for better working conditions. This is appropriate and good, not just because they will demand better conditions, but because these demands are coming from the people themselves which implies a raise in consciousness of the population. As workers are now drawn, by higher wages, out of textiles into tech, like Apple's contracts and others, these same demands are more and more prevalent. My prediction is that as the people of China raise their own conditions, through empowered demand, as the people of the US and Europe did during the Industrial Revolution, their economy can expand, domestically at a faster rate than ours did because of the learning curve, i.e. it has already been done on the planet so there are less barriers to evolution. And so the story will continue as textile production is now moving into Indonesia and Malaysia, this same pattern has the opportunity to repeat itself, sadly not without suffering, however to the great benefit of all of us that we are growing in not just surviving but thriving. I think this is a real world picture of the spiral of development that will never end. It will continue to inform all people of all countries as time goes on.