Something to think about...

In America, and likely many other industrialized nations, we are taught that buying free trade goods is the way to go. But what is free trade? Basically, free trade is defined as "international trade not restrained by government interference or regulation, such as duties." What this means is that an American corporation can freely stop producing a good in the United States and shift production to a developing country where labor is cheap, thereby resulting in a cheaper good, which means more consumption. Cheaper products are always good, as far as we consumers are concerned, but we must remember that they are cheaper for a reason.

American-made goods are often more expensive than those produced in countries like China and Honduras. This is because of the labor conditions and standards we have set in our own country to ensure the fair and equal treatment of workers. Essentially, the higher price of the good ensures that all workers are paid at least the minimum wage and work in an environment deemed safe and acceptable here in the U.S. When production of a good is outsourced, there is a higher supply of labor that will demand less pay, making production cheaper and fair treatment of workers unimportant.

Outsourcing also hurts the U.S. economy by taking jobs from citizens who need them. The number of blue collar manufacturing jobs in the United States has decreased as more and more factory jobs are sent overseas. In today's poor economic climate, we need these jobs. In Madera, CA, the unemployment rate for November 2009 was about 15%, and in Fresno, 16.5%. The state of California had an unemployment rate of about 12.3% in November, (all of this according to centralvalleybusinesstimes.com), making it the state with the third highest unemployment rate, falling only behind Rhode Island and Michigan, which has been greatly affected by the downfall of the auto industry, as it was home to most of the United States' auto manufacturing jobs. By bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States, it is entirely likely that while the price of goods would likely go up, unemployment rates would drop considerably, so more and more people would be able to afford the new American-made goods. We rely too heavily on other countries for goods and services that we could be producing ourselves, and by doing so, we bring ourselves down economically.

Nike, undoubtedly one of the most well-known brands in America, has been outsourcing most of its labor for decades. The company has been known for violating minimum wage laws, using child labor, and disempowering women. Despite all of this, the company continues to make millions of dollars, little of which will ever make it to the women and children working in their factories. If that isn't enough to make Nike look bad, their legal record should be; they've been taken to court by Apple and fought with Ian Mackaye, along with a number of other groups and activists.

While it would be illogical to expect any American to rely strictly on fair trade goods, it would be nice to see some of the effects of globalization begin to diminish. Easy access to global events is fantastic, but abusing workers in third-world countries for a cheaper shoe is nothing to praise.

SXR