Comments on: Why does Joe Public love sweatshops?

By: The Investor

The Investor — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:12:25 +0000

@TAF – Interesting comparison to the cowboy lifestyle. It’s true, people pine there for a time that was both dangerous and lawless, or else just drearily repetitive and hard. We are nostalgic for an idea of how things were, not for how they really were. Thanks very much for you thoughts!

By: The Amateur Financier

The Amateur Financier — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:50:32 +0000

I think a large part of the motivation is simple nostalgia. People have an unfortunately romanticized view of the past, particularly of how ‘simple’ and ‘wholesome’ life was a few generations ago. People who never had to struggle in sweatshops for decades in order to eke out a living have romanticized the idea of the ‘hard-working, blue-collar man’ and seem to forget that there was plenty to dislike about that life (such as said hard work). It’s similar to what happens with the cowboys here in America; everyone thinks of excitement and adventure, nobody thinks of boredom and having to deal with thousands of smelly cows on a daily basis…
.-= The Amateur Financier on: Book Review: Master Your Money Type =-.

By: 2009 Plutus Award Nominations: We're Up For Best Career Blog!

2009 Plutus Award Nominations: We're Up For Best Career Blog! — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:06:36 +0000

[...] Monevator: Why does Joe Public love sweatshops? [...]

By: Dan Cuprill

Dan Cuprill — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:23:06 +0000

The move from a manufacturing to a service economy is a natural evolution. As a country that tries to emphasize education, we should relish in the fact that the average American employee is qualified to do work above basic manufacturing.

Having said that, the move to service has been precipitated by unions and the minimum wage. Labor often outprices itself.

By: colin syme

colin syme — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:23:09 +0000

Allan; yes the British empire was made out of the suffering of others, slaves, children and downtrodden workers.

The shame of that exists today in some quarters, l live in a former coal mining village where that knowledge is passed down through mothers milk, we have a thriving Co-Op, a Labour club and miners welfare society. Like most injustices perpetrated on people, no matter how hard the grandchildren of those who were the beneficiaries try to claim that “it was in the past”-people remember

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:22:35 +0000

Are we simply not just talking about the evolution of all societies? From manufacturing to services due to the competitive advantages and tastes of nations?

Everything is rational, and once that is accepted, everything ALWAYS makes sense.

By: Money Reasons

Money Reasons — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:51:43 +0000

Great presentation! I think you may have convinced me that you are right about the low-end factory jobs, I’ll have to chew on it a bit…

I guess the key then it to be cognizant to the opportunities that present themselves, and capitalism on them as quickly as possible.

Thanks for the great reply, and good answer!
.-= Money Reasons on: Wealth Tip #4: Invest Money Saved on Food and Other Products =-.

By: The Investor

The Investor — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:57:47 +0000

@MoneyReasons – The $64,000 (plus inflation!) question!

I’m going to duck it and say it’s very difficult to answer this with any clarity, which is one of the reasons people get nervous about the future. In the 1950s, all the bright graduates went into plastics, for instance. Hard to believe isn’t it? People thought plastics were the stuff of the future (which proved true, but they don’t underpin the economy). Similarly, computers were barely in business by the 1970s, and even in the early 1990s I was unusual in having an email and one of the first web browsers.

We just don’t know what will be important, which is why having a flexible economy that can get rid of unproductive sectors (like low-end factories) is important – with I believe sensible safety nets that mean workers with redundant skills aren’t tossed on the scrap heap but equally are soon retrained and don’t live off the state for ever.

Great question, anyway – I’ve thought of a new blog post about future careers on the back of it, so thanks!

By: Money Reasons

Money Reasons — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:35:56 +0000

I’m just going to ask a question (please don’t read much into the question… there is nothing between the lines) just because I’m curious about your thought on the matter:

What do you foresee as the future employment opportunity that will make your country (or mine for that matter) great or at least able to maintain status quo?

Thanks for an well thought out article, it was interesting for me to learn some of the concerns you have about the media/journalism in your country.
.-= Money Reasons on: Wealth Tip #4: Invest Money Saved on Food and Other Products =-.

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:55:31 +0000

@Colin: point taken about the types of people working in manufacturing overseas, but are they, and their conditions, much radically different from those in U.K. during the industrial revolution? As I understand it consumers in the U.K. happily snapped up the output of our “dark satanic mills” without worrying about the workers’ conditions. Obviously things changed and the conditions in manufacturing improved, but this is also happening in overseas factories too, is it not?

By: The Investor

The Investor — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:29:14 +0000

@Rob – The way to test is in what the market pays, and what our GDP figures show. Manufacturing has been declining as a share of GDP for decades in the US and UK, but GDP and standards of living have soared. That’s because the work is real and value-adding. (The slight fly in the ointment is the role of debt and leverage in boosting GDP in recent years, but as I cite above deleveraging has hit manufacturing heroes like Japan and German just as hard – not surprising as they need customers!)

By: The Investor

The Investor — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:26:18 +0000

@Colin – Thanks for your comments, though as you’ll suspect I’m bound to disagree.

Nobody likes child labour, but it would hardly stop there – all kinds of restrictions and lobbying would come in. Ultimately it’d just jack up the prices we pay – and as I say for no real gain, as low-end factories are a commodity business that we’re well rid of anyway.