Didn’t finish reading it, but learned this: in 1950, a manufacturer in the USA could not take advantage of the laborer in
say, India,
for $0.60/hour, but instead had to pay $16.60/hour for a laborer here. Now,
with the age of globalization and the transfer of capital abroad, the
manufacturer can locate where the cheapest labor is.
Eventually, Ms. Freeland posits, working people world wide
will earn the same wage. Earnings for
workers in western democracies are lowering, and wages in Africa and Asia are rising.
One day they will meet.
I think that the revelations in this book call for citizen
diligence. After all, it was Congress
that brought globalization to bear.
Trevor Potter, a former chair of the Federal Elections Commission, told
Bill Moyers recently that elected officials spend more and more of their time
raising cash, and less and less time attending to the economy, war,
international affairs, health and welfare of citizens, and all the myriad
responsibilities of elected office.
Public financing of elections is the best way to remove the
pernicious influence of lobbyists and corporate deep pockets, including ALEC
(the American Legislative Exchange Council), that is responsible for state initiatives
such as voter IDs, “stand-your-ground”, privatized prisons, chartered schools,
concealed carry…
If we want Congress responsive to us, instead of to the
corporation, send an email or letter to those in elected office, and make your
desires known.
-Janice Gintzler, Acorn patron
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