Tens of Millions Now Employed In US At Sweatshops

Photograph taken in a 'sweatshop' c.1890 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sweatshop Defined:  A place where people work long hours for low pay in poor conditions.

B:) A shop or factory in which employees work for long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweatshop

From Wiki

More recently, the anti-globalization movement has arisen in opposition to corporate globalization, a process by which multinational corporations move their operations overseas in order to lower their costs and increase profits. The anti-sweatshop movement has much in common with the anti-globalization movement. Both consider sweatshops harmful, and both have accused many companies (such as the Walt Disney Company, The Gap, and Nike) of using sweatshops. Some in these movements charge that neo liberal globalization is similar to the sweating system, arguing that there tends to be a "race to the bottom", as multinationals leap from one low-wage country to another searching for lower production costs, in the same way that sweaters would have steered production to the lowest cost sub-contractor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweatshop

Today we see a new format emerging throughout the entire United States. With ObamaCare however, the hours are not long on a single job as corporations downsize how long they will allow workers to actually work during any given week.  The conditions in the work environment may be clean, but the wages are ridiculously low and not in the least bit a living wage.  More and more workers are depending on two, three and even four jobs just to try and scrape by anything that resembles a living and are still barely clinging on.

  McDonald's, Wal Mart, K-Mart, Sears, Burger King, Lowe's, Home Depot, and plenty of other places can now be considered modern day sweatshops as not one of them pay the majority of their workers anywhere close to a living wage.  Most of the workers in these locations are part time, little to no benefits, making barely above minimum wage which comes no where close to a living wage.

A living wage allows for a person to pay their rent or mortgage, car payment, insurance, medical expenses, clothing costs, food, utilities,  furniture expenses, and also allows for entertainment expenses and money left over to put into savings for a rainy day.  For a single person in the US today, the average income, outside of major metropolitan areas is around $45,000 per year and rising in order to be making a living wage.  Again, that is for one person.

Recent complaints in raising the minimum wage to anywhere between $10.00 or $12.00 per hour falls horribly short of coming close to making a living wage.  What difference does it make if you pay a person $25.00 per hour if all you are going to work them is 20 hours a week?  That is only $500.00 per week before taxes.  Rent in most areas throughout the US anymore is going to eat up half of the monthly wages leaving very little left for anyone to try and survive with.

The days of the 40 hour work week are for most, a buried memory, left in the dust of yesteryear.  Businesses are paying less and less of the benefits for employees and paying low wages to boot.  It's a mix that simply does not work.  That makes Wal Mart, Target, Subway, Chick-Fil-A and others the new modern sweatshops and tens of millions of people are stuck in the rut of these new deals.  

It's time for some new thinking about.....well.....every aspect of modern society.

English: Walmart Home Office, the headquarters of Wal-Mart - Bentonville, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Gloucester, VA - Shop Local - Wal Mart Needs More Money

English: A Bank of America Banking Center at Porter Ranch Town Center, a shopping center in Porter Ranch. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Big Lots (Photo credit: kenteegardin)

English: simulated Wal-Mart logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rite Aid (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Old Ruby Tuesday logo and slogan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Photo from the Gloucester Main Street Association.

The Gloucester Main Street Association decided to send us their Shop Local campaign ad to show us what they think are the benefits they are selling.  Shop local, Wal-Mart, Food Lion, Rite Aid, Ollie's, Lowe's, Home Depot, Big Lots, Tractor Supply, Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, Bank of America, Sun Trust, these are all local businesses right?  These businesses have local employees right?  They get paychecks don't they?

  If the employees get paychecks, the buck stays here if they pay local bills, isn't that correct?  We can go on and on with local/national businesses that all contribute to the community.  That's the issue here that these people just do not get.  That is if they really want to get it.

Again we will show the poster that shows benefits for shopping local.  You want to show why shopping local makes a difference.  Slogans are all fine and dandy when used properly.  The slogans are not being used properly.  We just showed that above.  

  If we are shopping for the best price on a new LED LCD TV with 3D, We are going to go local in Williamsburg or Newport News.  Not Gloucester.  The selection isn't here.  Wal Mart may have 2 TV's in stock that meet our criteria. In Newport News, we can find a multitude of selections at a number of stores.  It's still local for us.  It has not left Virginia.  Define local.  The GMSA is supposed to be promoting the businesses on Main Street right?  You wouldn't know it with their campaigns.

  Live Local?  As opposed to where?  Are we trying to kick out the tourists?  What message are we sending to the tourists with Shop Local?  Go back home and buy your stuff there instead?  Bank local.  What?  No Internet banking?  You can't get more local than your own home computer.  Anyone have any other great ideas to waste money on?  We just keep falling on the floor laughing very hard at the sheer lunacy of this entire farce.  

  How about fly local.  Instead of flying out of some major airport on a major airline, hire a local pilot to fly you to Japan.  Golf local.  Vacation local.  Take in a major Broadway show local?  What about local wine?  Gloucester has some great vineyards.  Drink local.  Bike local.  Gloucester has some of the best bike paths in the nation.  In fact, we are world leaders here.  Go to our local amusement parks?

 Here's a photo of Gloucester's very own world class amusement park.  Future plans may include broken glass, sharp metal objects and rusty nails.  

Yeah boy, keep it local.  Die local too we would suppose.  

What is supposed to be the idea behind shop local is to get customers into local businesses and not the big box national chains isn't it?  Is that being conveyed anywhere?  No!  Another question.  Is anyone going to be checking ID's at the local stores to make sure that only local people get the local discounts?  Where is the list of local retailers that are participating in the Shop Local campaign?  

  The GMSA does not have a list.  Instead they say see local Main Street businesses for special discounts.  Is the Gloucester County government offering any discounts?  10% off your tax bill today only?  Free park access passes to area parks that are already free?  Free glass of water when you pay your water bill?  Get out of jail free if you get busted today?  (April 27th, 2013).  

  WHERE ARE THE BENEFITS!  Why should we waste our valuable time?  Is the GMSA getting the message yet?  How hard would it have been to put together a list of participating businesses and maybe even include what the discounts might be?  But then they would have to actually care about local businesses.  Quick, everyone run to the GMSA to sign up for all of these great benefits and pay out the nose for that membership.  You too can be included in all of these fantastic concepts that waste your money?  

Be sure to visit this shop while you are in the Main Street area.  They are offering free window tours.  

  In all seriousness, Gloucester Main Street has some very fine places to shop.  Olivia's is a wonderful place to eat as is the Wild Rabbit Cafe.  Kelsick market has a great wine and beer selection as well as wonderful foods.  We have heard that the bakery in the area is also wonderful.  It's more than worth your time to hit these shops and don't wait for the Shop Local campaign to kick in to do so.  Anna's has Gloucester's best Pizza hands down.  The library is worth a visit and so is the Gloucester Museum of History.  We can not forget Rosemary and Wine either.  Well worth a visit when you are hungry.  

  It's worth your time to once again explore Main Street for a few hours.  The sidewalks are a serious joke especially with the light poles in the middle of them, but do not let that discourage you.  Parking is also a mess, but again, well worth your time to find a good spot.  We would love to see a good solid campaign done for the area businesses.  Just don't look for it to come out of the GMSA.  The area needs one solid business leader to take a leadership role in the area and actually do what has to be done.  It's not that hard or that expensive.  Time consuming yes.  But not at all hard.

 

  It has to be making area businesses sick with all the poor planning yet all the money poured into this joke of Shop Local that was not in the least well executed.  Can the businesses get their money back?

  It is our best wishes that local area businesses do get benefits from this.  We are sure that the GMSA will have an article in the paper claiming it was a huge success.  It's not in their best interest not to.  If you are one of the local businesses participating in this campaign and do not see a benefit, let the paper know about it.  They might even report it.  Maybe.

Free MP3 Download.  Don Ward - Clear Blue Now is the track.  CC Lic 3.0

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