We humans have little control over Nature but we, in America, do have some control over safety in OSHA. In Bangladesh, few safety controls exist. Recently, 120 people died in a clothing factory. United States is but one country receiving exports from such factories that employ two million people, Probably some of the jobs that left the United States went there because of the cheap rice for goods that only cost human lives which seem to have little value as long as the overall profit margin for product remains high.
As long as people persist in buying stolen property, thieves will persist. As long as people buy cheap goods with no shame even when they learn that they are made by children, forced labor in unsafe conditions, and at high human cost the situation will not change. Meanwhile, those companies that continue to import products like Walmart, and so many others, should be 'outed' .publicly . Perhaps of more people could see who makes those 'bargains' and at what cost....not only the loss of human life but a good portion of it in American jobs over the years, people might be more selective about buying American goods, fewer, even if they cost a bit more.
Click here to get a sense of the kinds of places about which I speak. Dhaka citizens rely on these factories without the protection of regulations, unions, OSHA and all the things Republicans would have us also get rid of in the United States. Instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water, perhaps some of the regulations could be tailored more specifically rather than attempts to make rules of 'one-size-fits-all'. It would make more sense to clean up union management rather than ridding us of them; OSHA should make rules that help rather than just become ridiculous in their wide application even when not applicable.
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