WEEK ONE of RCS 261:
Noelle Crist and I (Rebekah Bailey), will be combining our efforts to make this blog each week throughout the semester. This week, so far we have been discussing the topics of advertising, online shopping, discount retailing, sweat shops and various other issues. Noelle and I furthered our discussion outside of class on the idea of sweat shops , and the possibilities of different outcomes that would result from different hypothetical changes made.
We are both "pro-sweat shops" in the sense that without the income that those workers receive, no matter how small, they would be worse off without because there are little to no alternative for them. We do think the conditions of the shops could be addressed and made more pleasing for these laborers and probably at a seemingly small increase to the end apparel cost. If there was say a 2% tax increase to go to the revitalization of these work conditions, that money would add up quick as a whole and provide a decent fund to start with, yet the consumers would not suffer great price increases. Say a gap shirt costs $30, with a price increase of 2% the consumer is only paying 60 cents more, but after adding up every one of those sweaters sold times 60 cents adds up quick!
After these hypothetical renovations to work conditions in the sweat shops took place, this small taxation could go to increasing the actual wages of the workers. We realize this wouldn't completely solve or resolve the issues at hand, but we do think that it's a start, and we've got to start somewhere if we want to make a change.