Re: travelling friend

[Don Smith <dasmith at rotse2_physics.lsa.umich.edu>]

Peter wrote:
> Is this a reference to the so-called sweat-shops?  

So-called?  How bad do the working conditions have to be before
it counts as a "real" sweatshop?

> But the fact is, the presence of those so-called sweat-shops -- as much as
> they may need to be improved -- is also bringing economic benefits to the
> people who work there.

According to Klein, that analogy does not hold.  These export-processing-zones
(if you don't like the word sweat-shop, that's the technical term) are
actually *not* bringing economic benefits to the people.  The zones are
tax-free, so all the production does nothing for social services and civic
infrastructure.  The original idea was that the tax-free status would be
temporary, as an enticement to brin money and work in, which would then start
beinging economic benefit once the initial period elapsed, but the companies
aren't staying.  They jump to another EPZ before the time elapses, or they
renew the contract under another name or something.  And they don't bring
any benefits to the workers, who toil under perilous conditions for 12
hours or more a day (unpaid forced overtime) for untenable wages.  They
don't move up into management, they don't have time or money to take night
classes and improve themselves, and they don't make enough money to send
any savings home to help their family.  Note that I'm not suggesting they
should be earning $10 an hour.  But when the *living* wage of the area is
87 cents a day, and they're earning 13 cents a day, that's simply not
sustainable.

What economic benefits *exactly* can you point to that come from these EPZs?
I'm really curious.  What I've read about includes growth of corrupt and
oppressive government, loss of sustainable local industry and agriculture, and
extremely high child mortality rate.  I'd really like to know what of these
supposed benefits are actually happening. Perhaps (quite possible_ my sources
are biased in their reporting.  I've never been to one of these places, either.

Of course, Naomi Klein has.  For whatever that's worth.

Yours sincerely,
-- 
Don Smith                           Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment
donaldas at umich_edu                                 http://xte.mit.edu/~dasmith/


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