Hi Sylvain,

My shopping is very limited and has been so for several years now. I finally realized that having anyting I 'want' as soon as I 'want' it was making me a captive of the credit card company.

It is very very rare indeed that I step into a Walmart, mainly because of their pressure tactics on suppliers and their gloating about non-union stores where they joyfully pay 65%-75% of wages for similar jobs in other stores.

I do try to consider the source of the products I buy, and if the pricing is based on just costs. I find, though, that many many things by now are simply 'all' made in China (or Bangladesh or Singapore or Guatemala or Pakistan or India or...) so it is very hard to avoid such a purchase when you actually need it.
I would be far less reluctant to buy such goods if I knew that the people making them are decently paid AND get to take that money home with them (many such factories have reasonable sounding wages but then the "room and board" - a cot in a barrack and 2 bowls of rice a day - are deducted, leaving them with almost nothing! And that their working conditions are reasonable too in terms of hours and breaks and dangers and environmental factors and stuff like that.

So while my conscience does play a role, it is harder and harder for it to do so!

I surely hope that, one day, the almighty dollar is not the sole and only basis for making decisions in business or government.

cheers

>Hi Jim,
>
>I understand your frustration, but I have one question for you. When you shop, do you make your buying decision mainly/only on price or do you consider other factors like:
>
>- Was it made in a factory that hire children?
>- Was everyone involved in the process paid the just price? (most coffee cultivators get only a very small percentage of the selling price)
>- Did the company respect the environment? The animals?
>
>If you do take these points in consideration, then congrats, that mean that you probably don't shop in places like Wal-Mart. Otherwise, you support the process that you are frustrated against.
>
>I am not against the global economy IF it is done right. Meaning that I would pay the "just price" for a given item or service and that the richness will be evenly distributed on the planet. But as we all know, we are far from there. Many companies see that global economy as a way of paying less for the same item or service and that frustrate me also.
>
>>First I should note that SAP was mentioned in the short news item too, so there is the possibility that it is SAP (less impact on NA I guess) and not MS.
>>
>>Sure it's good for Indians and India. BUT why does it have to be for one, at the expense of another?????
>>And I wonder how many of the jobs, if not all, are replacements for jobs liquidated here (or there if SAP) (i.e. not new jobs).
>>
>>This now standard method of LOWERING some ships to raise others may be fine when it involves things, but when it involves PEOPLE it is distinctly WRONG.
>>It clearly is exploitation of the highest order, and when salaries get too high in india they'll be off to China. A very few get very very rich and the rest get poorer and poorer in the longer run.
>>
>>THIS SIMPLY STINKS