The Devil's Advocate

Last week I was reading a poem for one of my classes written by Thomas More back in the 16th century called Utopia. In the poem a man named Rafael talks about a voyage he made to a land called Utopia. This country was like non that ever existed. There was no form of currency, everyone did their part to benefit the community. If someone did their part of the worker and needed something it was given to them. Gold and silver had no value there just because unlike the rest of the world where human folly gave them value just because they were rare items even though they serve no practical functions. Jewels and diamonds were considered toys for children. Yet everyone there was content. Why is this? Because they successfully managed to remove pride and greed from their society.

Think about it. How different would the world be if those two characteristics were removed from the world. Unfortunately, a world without those two is about as realistic as Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, and Star Trek.

Since I already mentioned my opinions of Finn's article in a previous post I will keep it brief here. Asking consumers to pay 400% more for items isn't going have any results. The average Joe who lives paycheck to paycheck isn't going to fork over another $30 for a hat just because it was made locally.

Unlike Finn, at least Roddick has the appearance of being reasonable and have actually used her brain to think about a solution. The idea of having standards for companies to be on a preferred list is a great one. That way people who give a shit wont have to spend a couple of days looking for a hat like Finn did but I do not think that will cause the change she is hoping for.

I think the way she structured her argument was very effective to her audience. But I think she twisted evidence to cause the readers to form assumptions that may not be completely accurate and I have some questions for her. Many people making similiar arguments seem to allows use the same evidence: the hourly rate of the workers in terms of US dollars. People read that someone is only making $1.26 an hour and the automatic response is to relate that value to their lives. No one is arguing that $1.26 is a wage you can survive on in America. But the cost of living is different in various places. I read an article in the NY Times that stated to have the same standard of living in Houston making $50,000 a year you would need to be making $130,000 a year in NYC. That's almost 3 times as much just to be able to afford the same things you can in Houston. This makes me think of the movie Eurotrip in which they somehow get stranded in a Eastern European country with only $2. Applying the set of values to the situation, they immediately feared they weren't going to be able to afford anything. Next thing you know they are at a luxury hotel living the high life. Unknowingly they tip one of the help a nickle which causes him to promptly quit his job and tell his boss he is opening up his own hotel. Now I know that this isn't close to being realistic but it does make the point that in different countries things are worth more or less than others.

Alright with that rant over I need to say that I am not for brutal treatment of workers that sometimes goes on in this country and others. My point is you have to look at every aspect of the situation before you rashly form an opinion. Don't make the same logical error most celebrities do and form a strong opinion you don't fully understand. Business is just that: its business. Do companies need to be responsible, yes but they must also meet the demands of the consumer.

My last thought is this. Cheaper labor is not the only reason companies conduct business out of America. Taxes are also a big reason. The US has the 2nd highest corporate tax in the world behind Japan and the current administration campaigned on raising them. For a company to operate in the US compared to lets say Ireland since that is where our teacher is from, the rates in Ireland are 27.5% lower than here in the US. Now I know that due to tariffs and other taxes the savings wouldn't be equal to that but image how many job offers you would get if you could lower the company's cost by 27.5%.