Money 's Ugly Face : America, The Great And Powerful

Together with the low family income and the price of public education, which is about $150 dollars a month, without meals, schooling is out of the question for a large majority of people. (How much do schools cost in China?) Families are not in the financial situation to set school as a priority. Therefore, many children are recruited to assist the family in paying for needs. Americans see child labor as a barbaric act because we have been spoiled with a great system designed with public education being paid for by our taxes. While Chinese citizens do not get that privilege. Many sweatshops allow, against Chinese law, children to work as if they were an adult. Which means children can work very long shifts and often over time. If schooling is not a financially feasible option for a family. What is a child to do? While their family struggles to provide basic needs. The only reasonable option presented to them at the time is to work. While Americans, who do not realize their options are limited, and protest these children working to

Together with the low family income and the price of public education, which is about 150 dollars a month without meals, schooling is out of the question for a majority of people. (How much do schools cost in China?) Families are not in the financial situation to set school as a priority. Therefore, many children are recruited to assist the family in paying for needs. Americans see child labor as a barbaric act because we have been spoiled with a great system designed with public education being paid for by our taxes. Many sweatshops allow, against Chinese law, children to work as if they were an adult. Meaning children can work long shifts and often over time. If schooling is not a financially feasible option for a family, what is a child to do? Since their family is struggling to provide basic needs the only reasonable option presented to them is to work. While Americans, who do not realize their options are limited, protest these children working to support their families.

This episode of American Greed presents the subtle yet very dangerous white collar criminals, whose tactics lead to financial losses with harrowing effects. The criminal in this particular case, Mr. Steven Palladino, manages an ice cream store in his neighborhood of West Roxbury and as such is a widely trusted man. The trust he obtains be founded from having been born and grown here as well as having his entire family as the mascots for his fraudulent enterprise. Having studied finance and finally making his way successfully through college to become a registered stock broker, he makes use of his social status to start in the pursuit of a Ponzi scheme under the appearance of Viking Financial. On the flip side, his investors seem to have unwavering trust in him despite the location of his office, a small

• The enormous surplus of labor in China imperils workers worldwide as international competition puts incessant downward pressure on wages and working conditions, leading the apparel and textile industries to favor the cheapest and most Draconian producers.

However, this could not be more wrong. First off, all of the employees in other nations who flock to Wal-Mart’s factories have the choice to do so. Even though the wages paid in third world nations is inconceivable in United States, those wages will still increase the employee’s income, which in turn increases the employee’s standard of living. The increases in standards of living will lead to economic innovations and increased productivity/efficiency. This process of evolving mirrors that same steps that the United States went through in its early beginnings as well. Secondly, critics want Wal-Mart to enforce labor laws in its overseas factories that are consistent with United States. However, Vedder refutes this demand stating, “We have no more right to expect Wal-Mart to enforce Chinese labor laws than the Chinese have the right to enforce ours” (Vedder). Clearly, this criticism is without reason and impossible. In addition, the regulations and laws in third world countries are not kept up to date as well as in America, not everyone has a birth certificate or passport proving their age. It is unreasonable to assume that Wal-Mart would be able to verify the ages of every single employee in Indonesia or China. (Vedder)

“A soul-searching debate is now coursing through the country: Child labor is universally condemned, but is it fair to multinationals to cut and run when incidents arise of children working?” writes David Montero in his article titled “Is Doing the Right Thing Wrong?” While child labor in the United States (U.S.) is not accepted, it still runs rampant in second and third world countries, which is why children often find their way into factories. When this happens people often boycott the companies where this is found, but boycotting is not the way to go. Just boycotting companies doesn’t do anything, and can often hurt the very children people are trying to help. Then there’s the actual legal workers, boycotting a company for having child labor has negative effects on the legal workers and can often derail needed progress that these second and third world countries desperately need. People often jump to boycott

These jobs that the Chinese have taken should be open to Americans first seeing that we are in America but a lot of the companies have wanted the Chinese working instead. For example, “The boot, shoe, and cigar industries are almost entirely in their hands. In the manufacture of men’s overalls and women’s and children’s underwear they run over three thousand sewing machines night and day.” This means us Americans do not have the jobs that were once ours and the Chinese are taking a majority of the jobs out there. There is barely enough work for Americans alone and now my job has been taken over because these Chinese people offer to work for a lot less money and longer hours. I need my job to feed myself and my family, but I got fired because they say the Chinaman would do the same work for less money making it better for the company to hire the Chinaman and fire me. This is one reason why we the people of America are rightfully fighting to have our privileges back. “It is almost impossible for a poor white servant girl to find employment in a white family. No! The mistress of the house wants a Chinaman.” This is just one example of an American changing our work to fit in the Chinaman, even though it makes Americans start to be in poverty because the Chinese have been earning the money we normally

We live in a trying time. This is a moment in our history unparalleled with questions, and little answers from your leaders. Our country has been through the rough moments of reconstruction, but we are finally finding ourselves on our feet. Americans are beginning to go out, finding themselves in a thriving moment in our economic relations, as we begin to expand our influence and trade with others, and prosper. As you know, we, as American citizens, built our country on the concept of prosperity, and we protected our influence time and time again.

China is one of our biggest labor competitors. The reason many US companies go to China for outsourcing is again, because of their workforce’s willingness to operate at low costs. Michael Zimmerman describes this as a disparity in worker “tolerance”. Where the low wages found in China are “far lower than U.S.

Companies use private contractors or sub-contractors to protect themselves from a legal standpoint but are well aware that children are working in the factories. In fact, child labour is what allows them to produce at such a low cost and maintain their margins high. Currently there is 200 million children working in factories that are either financially or physically obligated to do so. A full-time adult factory worker in China makes about $118 a month, there has been little to no data leaked about the salary of an average child worker since 1990 where it was 6 cents an hour. Yes, it may be costly to purchase locally made products but keep in mind that this will help the country’s

Imagine only seeing your family for one day once a year. Having to compete for a ticket home with millions of other workers in order to see your family that you haven’t seen in a year. This is the life of 130 million migrant workers in china. These workers make most of the things we own. Most of us don’t think about the people who make our clothes, our phones, our computers; items that we use everyday. Our way of life revolves on mass consumerism, where we value the article more than the person or persons who made it. Mass media and multi million dollar industries keep the conditions on how these people work as a total mystery. Some brands have been exposed for sweatshop and

“Inside the factory, amid clattering machinery and clouds of sawdust, men without earplugs or protective goggles feed wood into screaming electric saws, making cabinets for stereo speakers” (Goodman and Pan 1). In the article Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart’s Low Prices by Peter Goodman and Philip Pan the mistreatment of the migrant workers in China is evident. These kinds of behaviors are taking place all over in China. The abuse of the Chinese work force has reached terrible proportions and created unlawful conditions because of the demanding economy of China, and other countries’ needs of the goods; however, the companies that are centered in China are working to make sure their workers are treated fairly.

Imagine waking up before the sun, working a twelve hour shift in a factory that employs hundreds of thousands only to return home and repeat the cycle (Chang, 2010), a life of eternal darkness. This is the perception western media has spoon-fed to American citizens. However, in reality, Foxconn--the victim of labor scandals in recent years--is a safe haven that shields its workers from the hardships of living in a developing country. Foxconn acts as a lifeline to countless factory workers by putting food on the table with raised

In the United States, child labor and sweatshops are illegal, and society frowns upon any business that exploits children in the production of goods. Though most would say that they would not support a company that uses child labor to produce its goods, almost everyone has, in fact, knowingly or unknowingly, supported these businesses in one way or another. Children are involved in the production of many of the everyday goods we import from overseas, including the manufacturing of clothes, shoes, toys, and sporting equipment, the farming of cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, and bananas, and the mining of coal, diamonds, and gold (The U.S. Dept. of Labor). Often, we are blinded to this fact.

The ongoing economic rise in China effects the US in many ways, including things that some people wouldn’t even consider. It can be seen that the Chinese are beginning to need more jobs, but can that be because some of theirs are being given to us? And, that’s not the only thing they’re giving us. China has the proven to be worst pollution in the world, and it has gotten to the point where the polluted air has travelled overseas to the US, and has begun to take a toll on us. But, they’re not only giving to us. Because of it becoming harder to find jobs, the students push themselves to the limit to become perfect, which could create competition with graduates here in America.