Posted on 12/21/2007 9:32:26 AM PST by kellynla
WASHINGTON – As consumer safety recalls of Christmas products made in China continue at a torrid pace, a new report shows the average Chinese worker making toys is paid a meager 36 cents an hour – just 2.5 percent of what U.S. toy manufacturers pay domestically.
Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the latest recall of a Christmas import – a holiday candle set that tips over and whose exterior coating is flammable. The snowman and Christmas tree candles were manufactured in China.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission warned the candles should not be used because of the fire hazard they pose. Instead, they should be returned to the retailer for a full refund.
Chinese-made toys accounted for 94 percent of the CPSC recalls this year. Most of the recalls were related to excessive and dangerous levels of lead used in cheap paints.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Before I start wringing my hands, a little more context is needed.
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$1.00 US per day to the progressive may not translate into a living wage and it comes no where near close to the $4-8 US per hour minimum wages found in most first world countries. What is never taken into account is the relative spending power that that salary brings to the average third world worker far more purchasing power and greater income than they would ever think of producing on a farmer’s salary.
$1.00 US exchanges for 15,709.00 Dong in Vietnam and gives its worker a relative purchasing power of approximately $15 US. Albeit this is still no where near the first world’s minimum wage this does represent a significant increase from a farmer’s salary of 200 Dong per month. The average sweatshop worker in Vietnam can actually expect to bring in close to the national average of $300 US, all in an economy that is still mostly based on farming. No wonder that workers of sweatshops in Vietnam are petitioning Nike to expand and never join the progressive chorus of ending sweatshops.
Parents that buy American made toys for Christmas love their kids more than those that buy Chinese made toys.
“Having started out my first job in Kentucky in 1947 at 10-cents an hour, these guys are ahead of me—starting out?”
That dog won’t hunt either.
Ten cents in 1947 had about the same buying power as 92 cents in 2006.
“a little more context is needed?”
A wealth of information is sitting right in front of you.
Happy hunting. LOL
Gee, I wonder what they pay at a REAL sweatshop!!??
In case you hadn’t noticed, China is Communist and as P.J.O’Rourke said, “Liberalism is just Communism sold by the drink.”
But Comrade, I’m sure your “logic” brings a lot of joy & comfort to those who are persecuted, beaten & starving to death in China.
gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
“I recall in the 80s a big fuss over Nike in Vietnam paying workers something like 10c per hour. What the article didn’t state is that in the Vietnamese economy at the time, the average worker made 2c per hour, so working for Nike greatly increased their lifestyle and caused there to be high demand for Nike jobs in Vietnam?”
Have you ever been to Viet Nam?
Well I have not only been there but I fought the NVA & VC.
And NIKE wages & working conditions in Viet Nam are outrageous! How Michael Jordan et al, who receive millions in shoe endorsements can shave in the morning while people are treated like garbage is a mystery to me.
“The point is???”
If you can’t figure it out then I can’t help you. LMAO
I can say with a clean conscience that I have purchased only non-Chinese-made goods as Christmas gifts this year. Not all American made, but I did avoid China - and that is buying gifts for people ranging in age from 2 to 72.
If you're going to make the point that these people are taking jobs from Americans, I think it's better to make that point directly. But the fact is that before these items were made in China, they were made in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.
As to the wages themselves, they are much better than what the Chinese can get working elsewhere or on a farm. The reality is that export-oriented jobs are the best jobs in China that don't require personal connections to get. That's why Chinese flock to them, leaving their homes by rail for destinations hundreds or thousands of miles away in Guangdong or Shanghai. Plants that produce for the Chinese market are much, much worse, because product standards (for toxicity, etc) and profit margins are far lower. This means lower salaries and crappier working conditions.
Exactly right. 34 cents an hour is a) the best job going in some places and b) is a living wage. Because the worldwide market for rice is dominated by people earning less than 34 cents an hour.
The people of china *are* slaves to the government. Make no mistake just because they pay you does not make you free..
We are KNOWINGLY selling our Nation for cheap trinkets.
I encourage people to shop at Goodwill and Salvation Army for things you can't, otherwise, find "MADE IN AMERICA"!
Pride comes in MANY forms!!!!
Disgusting... If they were prison slave labor would you be chiming ‘at lest the get three hots and a cot?’. So spreading freedom and Democracy (or at least liberty) is now crap?
The shining city on a hill now does nothing but serve as a beacon to those who would deprive their people of liberty so long as they keep them deep enough in poverty to supply us with cheap wares..
Simple, cheap toy: small or medium empty cardboard box and a pack of crayola washable crayons. I gave this to my toddler and she loves it, beats those made in china - Baby Einstein Toys, which I spent a pretty penny on. My late Father was right: sometimes a simple cardboard box does the trick./Just Asking - seoul62.......
Of course, I strenuously oppose slave labour — so, you’ll have to make some room on your moral high-ground for me. Do you have proof (not just innuendo)that slave labour is involved?
If the workers are there by their own volition — it’s because, to their own reckoning, working there beats the alternatives. How does throwing such workers out on the street help them?
Consider other, recent, “sweat shop” economies — e.g. Japan after WWII, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan — they grew through trade. As their economies grew, they became more efficient, and workers wages rose -- to the point where they now rank amongst the world's highest. Protectionism, — even in the guise of compassion for the poor workers — does nothing to help those workers, and everything to hurt them.
Economics without Morals seldom works well in protecting the liberty of a people. The founders were not after a Godless, Morally Corrupt Plutocracy. If thats what they were after free trade and not tariffs would have been built into the constitution.
Do you have proof (not just innuendo)that slave labour is involved?
I dont define slave as chained up at night.
The people cant speak their minds or be arrested, the people cant decide how many kids to have without being punished, the people cant come and go freely without being watched. The people of a marxist dictatorship (free market or not) are slaves, this was not a controversial idea during the Regan years but the freetraitors have helped the GOP lose its way.
Japan after WWII, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan — they grew through trade
Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwann all had government which recognized the peoples freedom of thought, worship, assembly, speech, and had true and meaningful electoral process. Thats somewhat different than China..
Protectionism, — even in the guise of compassion for the poor workers
Its not just about protecting 'poor workers' its about not enriching totalitarian regimes who's values are (or at least should be) at odds with our own..
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