[ale] [Semi-OT] Re: More reasons to adore Microsoft

Jim Kinney jim.kinney at gmail.com
Thu Apr 15 12:26:15 EDT 2010


On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 11:56 AM, Charles Shapiro
<hooterpincher at gmail.com>wrote:

> Oh boy.  I'll wear asbestos for this.
>
> You did catch that the young man narrating his terrible story was
> supporting his entire family with this job, right?
>
> I know that I can choose not to work overtime, but if I don't work
> overtime, then I am stuck with only 770 RMB [$112.67 per month] in
> base wages.  This is not nearly enough to support a family.  My
> parents are farmers without jobs.  They also do not have pensions.  I
> also need to worry about getting married which requires a lot of
> money.
>
> What do you suppose they will do if we self-righteously boycott the
> factory and it closes? It basically sucks to be poor, especially in a
> poor society. This is not news. I agree that these workers are
> exploited. I agree that Microsoft is helping to facilitate a cruel and
> unjust work environment. But what alternatives do these people have?
>

boycott, let it collapse and help 'em revolt?

There is no comfortable path to equity is the current process of
international trade. By adding import tariffs to bring the cost of cheap
goods up to the cost of local-made goods using out labor and safety and
environmental standards is decried by the business side.  Yet to do
otherwise only encourages more job exports and thus undermining the
financial infrastructure here.

Me? I'm adding those products to my growing boycott list. Won't have much of
an impact but it makes me feel a bit better.

How many gadgets do we really need here anyway? My spiral bound paper
notepads are certainly harder to index than an ipad, but all of the ones I
will use in my entire life consume fewer resources during their making and
use than one ipad with an expected lifespan of 5 years (maybe).

Maybe if we had really durable domestically produced goods. If an optical
mouse from China is $10 and one from the US were $50 but had a 10 year
warranty with free recycling included (just ship it back and they ship a new
one for $20 or a refurb for free - or something like that).

But that kid supporting his family with effectively slave labor is on par
with the children being used and prostitutes that are put into that mess by
their families for the income it makes. It's just bad all the way around.

>
>
> -- CHS
>
> On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 11:31 AM, Michael Trausch <mike at trausch.us> wrote:
> > On Thu, 2010-04-15 at 11:17 -0400, Jim Kinney wrote:
> >> My point in the post was not to discuss the labor laws (or total lack)
> >> in China, but that Microsoft (and the list of others in the article)
> >> have profited handsomely from business actions that most of us as
> >> parents would object strenuously to.
> >
> > I think the biggest impact that it will have is none.  That said, as my
> > newly-added signature indicates, I'm hopeful that that isn't the case.
> >
> > But most people don't really care.  They'll buy clothing, furniture,
> > cars, computers, and general other stuff regardless of the conditions
> > that the aforementioned items were made in.  Most people perceive
> > Microsoft software as being necessary for business (my clients do, too,
> > despite my efforts to convince them otherwise) and therefore, they'll
> > justify the purchase and use of the software as a necessary evil of the
> > world.  That turns the children into something like martyrs, and makes
> > it all better, I guess.
> >
> > It's disgusting, IMHO.
> >
> >        --- Mike
> >
> > --
> > Even if their crude and anticompetitive business practices don't make
> > you think about using their software, their use of sweatshops and child
> > labor should:  boycott Microsoft like you would any other amoral child
> > abuser:  http://is.gd/btW8m
> >
> >
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>
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-- 
-- 
James P. Kinney III
Actively in pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness
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