----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry Pollard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Selma Singer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Darryl and Natalia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Karen Watters Cole" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Harry Pollard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 3:51 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Fw: Bigger Than Watergate!
Harry wrote: > Selma, > > Now this may be good leftist propaganda, but it isn't true. In fact, the > companies say conditions are better for the people than if they weren't > there, which may be mildly true - but, I'm not betting the farm on it. > > My reply to them was : 'Why do they (the people) accept such terrible > conditions All they need do is say "A pox on you" and work for better wages > elsewhere.' > > That was designed to produce the answer you gave. > > You said: > > "Harry, are you truly ignorant of the fact that these people are generally > starving and without any resources whatsoever with which to move or get any > other work? How is it that you don't understand that the corporations take > advantage of that?" > > "I am so confused by the kind of question you asked above. The alternative > for these people is to starve to death." > > HARRY : If the local governments were to send those American companies > packing, the people would no doubt be better off. But, of course, you know > that isn't so. The horrible conditions of the people preceded the coming of > the American companies. > > Selma: Harry, I believe it is true that in a number of instances (not all) the people are surviving as the result of the money they get paid by the big corporations (I started to say American corporations, but they are really international corporations, aren't they). People, like myself, who object to what is going on there are not suggesting that they leave; at least I don't see that as a solution. I believe it is incumbent on those corporations to provide decent working conditions for the people they employ. Just because they can abuse them because those countries don't have laws against it doesn't mean it's okay for them to do that. It is very much part of the same argument about the huge corporations and the way they abuse people and the political system in this country in order to increase their profits. As a related issue, Harry, are you aware of the statistics that show that, after American companies have been in a very poor country for any length of time, when they leave, the country is much poorer than they were before the companies got there? I have to insert here a note that I have not been involved in these kinds of arguments for almost a decade and have not kept up with the statistics involved. I do know that the World Bank and especially the IMF have given money to countries that will promote capitalist interests and that those countries have not benefitted in the way that they should. I do know that there are lots of recent statistics to back that up. Selma _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
