This Thanksgiving was different for us. Instead of lying around in supine lumps watching football, all the adults and all the kids played on Wii games.
After that huge meal, it felt very good to get up and do something active. We all took turns playing in different combinations, parents mixed up with kids, men and women on the same teams, on different teams.
I don't recall a more raucous Thanksgiving. I think this was the most fun anyone us has had at Thanksgiving in a long time. And oh yes, the food was great too!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Give Chinese Workers the Same Rights as US Workers
I was reading an article in the San Jose Mercury News about how Chinese workers are getting poisoned by the goods that they are making for customers in the US. In the last couple of days the California State Attorney General decided to sue companies like Mattel and Toys 'R Us for selling tainted toys in the US. I agree with the AG about the suit, but don't see it solving the problem.
I even heard that Japan sends inspectors to China to check goods before they leave China, and substandard goods don't make it into Japan. But that is still not enough.
I don't want to be responsible for workers in China falling sick so that my kids can have toys and I can have sneakers. I think the way to deal with this is to have all goods that are manfuactured in China (or any other country) manufactured with the same (or better) standards as well as worker safety regulations that are applied to workers in the US.
This will lead to a number of things. First, employers will have to pay better wages and benefits to workers in China, which will level the playing field for workers in the US. It seems sort of backwards that the US should loose manufacturing jobs in part because we care about the health of workers in the US.
Second, hopefully we'll feel less guilt about what US consumer goods are doing to the workers in countries like China.
Finally, maybe increasing the level of worker safety will reduce the amount of bad products that get into the US.
I even heard that Japan sends inspectors to China to check goods before they leave China, and substandard goods don't make it into Japan. But that is still not enough.
I don't want to be responsible for workers in China falling sick so that my kids can have toys and I can have sneakers. I think the way to deal with this is to have all goods that are manfuactured in China (or any other country) manufactured with the same (or better) standards as well as worker safety regulations that are applied to workers in the US.
This will lead to a number of things. First, employers will have to pay better wages and benefits to workers in China, which will level the playing field for workers in the US. It seems sort of backwards that the US should loose manufacturing jobs in part because we care about the health of workers in the US.
Second, hopefully we'll feel less guilt about what US consumer goods are doing to the workers in countries like China.
Finally, maybe increasing the level of worker safety will reduce the amount of bad products that get into the US.
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