Quote:
Originally Posted by VRPdommy
Point well taken, but I am not saying slave labor does not happen in China.
But the reason for any trade imbalance has little to do with 'slave labor'
But if it gets a rise on anyone, look within before looking abroad.
Pointing the finger at China is just a distraction from our own problems.
Just providing perspective as opposed to demonizing.
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I guess full on slave labor as described by that site likely doesn't have too much to do with trade imbalance, but very low wages and living conditions do. I know different places have different economies so $7 an hour in the US is not even minimum wage, but in some countries it would be like making six figures in the US. To me just as big of a problem are those companies that are exploiting needy, under-educated people. There are tons of companies all over the world that exist in places where jobs are hard to come by and poverty is rampant. People will put up with a lot and work for next to nothing when they are desperate.
I do see a difference between working at Walmart or McDonald's for minimum wage and working in a sweatshop in Indonesia. Here you have options and if you are willing to work you can get an education and get a better job. In those other places, that may not be an option. They are working at that wage because that is what they must do to survive and businesses are taking advantage of that. Those millions of people who are working in these sweatshops do attribute to trade imbalances.