Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt
I'm not sure what you mean when you say we need to "treat" all workers to a certain standard. If you mean that they should be made aware of inherent dangers in a job, not placed in unnecessarily dangerous situations and be hired/fire without prejudice, then I agree. But if you're saying that everyone is entitled to a certain wage, no matter the job or how well they do it....well I disagree.
Manual laborers make shitty wages because anybody can do what they do. There is little to no skill involved in the tasks they perform. Given 5 minutes of instruction, ANYBODY can learn to operate a shovel, pick oranges or wash dishes. In other words, employers pay wages that they think are appropriate for the labor/service they are receiving. Should the laborer be unsatisfied with their compensation, he or she is free to quit and seek a better wage elsewhere. I fail to see anything wrong or "unfair" with this.
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We're talking about people making 5 dollars a day in one of the richest nations in the world. No one is suggesting they should be making 100K a year. But $5 a day in a nation of millionaires (and billionaires) is exploitation.
As already stated, no one is putting a gun to anyone's head - but we're not talking about Wal-Mart "exploiting" some young kid or dumb hick in the US. Such people are infinitely more savvy about the world than the dirt farmer from Somalia or Pakistan getting a big $5 a day to build a multi-billion dollar edifice in Dubai. These people might as well be from another planet for all they know of the business world. They are virtually indentured servants once they get off the plane/boat and step into Dubai (or Abu Dhabi or Kuwait or wherever).