Here are somethings I think might fall under the category of Fair trade, or probably more accurately “DEFINITLY NOT FREE TRADE.”
Minimum Wage. It’s too low still in my opinion, but it’s a big step towards human rights and away from the rule of the economic system. We have a minimum wage because we believe there is a certain pay the is dignified, below which is an oppressive payment.
The trouble is we don’t seem to care one iota about that carrying over to other countries.
Agriculture Subsidies. These aren’t fair, but the point is that they certainly aren’t “free.” The USA puts all kinds of restrictions on other countries and yet we subsidies our agriculture making it near impossible for outsiders to get in at a decent and fair price. The truth is that if we let the free market rule we would have NO farmers in the US because we couldn’t afford it. Our food supply would come from others, and they would be free to charge us what they would like for it as well.
Bankruptcy. This is a great element of Fair. In many countries a debt can be held and carried over to the children and grand children. Debt is a modern day slavery for many. The ability to declare bankruptcy and start again from zero is a commendable thing that are society has, but it’s certainly not Free Trade.
More on FAIR trade to come
What’s up with the above two comments? hehe I’m so confused. :/
Anyway…good points, Ariah. Especially the one about agriculture. Not to mention the fact that other countries don’t have the same rules as us as far as certain pesticides being used and what not. For me, it’s a scary thing buying fruits and veggies from other countries, b/c you have no “guarantee” as to what’s on them.
Of course, America’s pretty “shady” sometimes in their practices as well. *sigh* But I am grateful that there is at least some kind of standard we have to follow in this country. I pray that it spreads to other cultures as well.
Until next time,
Jamie
The two above are called ‘track backs’ if someone (including myself) link to this post from another blog post, the links show up above with snippets of what was being said around the link. They look kind of confusing though I agree.
Yeah, I wish I could find people who knew more about all this stuff then me to discuss it with, but many people I talk to who know a lot usually have quite biased opinions and won’t entertain a discussion really. Here’s to learning more.