108 thoughts on “Blog #30 – Reform Workers’ Conditions”

1. Kristina Satullo January 30, 2012 at 8:53 pm

   1. I would be willing to spend the extra money because would it not only be helping the workers in other countries but it would also help the American economy. I think it is very important to make sure the workers in China are treated better and knowing that the extra money spent is improving someone’s life defiantly worth it. People shouldn’t have to suffer so that others can have a wasteful and materialistic lifestyle and by letting the poor treatment of workers continue you might as well be saying that it’s okay to not treat people as human beings. Also if we brought the companies to the United States it would benefit our economy greatly. It would help create more jobs which would help with the unemployment rates. Also, ig you take the jobs back to the United States you are telling the country you took the company away from that it is not okay to treat workers the way they did and hopefully it would lead to a change in the working conditions in other countries.
   2. To get companies to treat their workers like people you need to make sure the company understands that if they don’t change then people will stop buying their products. Companies will most likely only listen if they have a large amount of customer complaints. In order to have the companies listen I would stop buying their products and encourage others to do the same. If you inform others of the poor treatment of the workers that make the things we use every day, they may understand and agree to send letter or emails of complaint to the companies. f you get a enough people to complain and threaten to stop buying from the company, the company may listen and do something about the problems.
2. Johnny R. January 30, 2012 at 9:09 pm

   1. I think that I would be willing to pay 25 to 50% more for my electronics if I knew they were coming from the United States. I would be willing to pay this because of the fact that it would be bringing jobs back to the United States, it will also help the economy get back because we are funding companies that are making things in the United States so they can use the money they make to put money back into the company and which would stimulate the economy. I also think that the companies don’t necessarily need to raise the prices that much if they bring the jobs back. They are already making huge profit margins on the electronics they are selling because the cost to make them is so cheap. I can see if they raise it 10-20% but any more than that in my opinion would be unreasonable. But hey, if it would bring jobs to the United States I would be happy to pay a little extra knowing that it is helping to bring jobs to the people of the United States.
   2. The level of noncooperation I would be willing to do are informing other people about the terrible work conditions that are going on to make these products. Also I think I would write a letter to the companies stating that they should move some of their manufacturing back to United States. Honestly though, I do not think I would not be able to stop purchasing the products because of that a lot of those products have become a big part into my life. I now am used to using these electronics throughout the day. Also I think that many people wouldn’t give up purchasing the products if they were continued to be made in the poor working conditions that they are currently being made in. Even though it would be great to have all of the electronics to be made in the United States, I do not know if it would make a difference to a lot of people.
3. Ayah K. January 30, 2012 at 9:12 pm

   1. Before watching the Daily Show video in class I had no idea how Apple, Sony, Nintendo, and HP products were made. I thought they we made in the United States, but boy was I way off. The way these employees are being treated is sickening, just the fact that Foxconn’s chief, Terry Guo referred to the works as “animals” infuriates me. If paying more money (25%) for an Ipod or Xbox would put an end to these inhumane actions, I would definitely do it. Moving Foxconn’s factories to the United States will not only end these ridiculous actions, but it will also help boost our economy, so it’s a win-win situation. You cannot put a price on people’s health, it’s just not right. The extra 50 or 100 dollars being put into purchasing the products won’t matter, knowing that it helped save innocent people from terrible working conditions.

   2. Personally I would probably do most, if not all of the options listed in the question above. I cannot guarantee that I will stop buying the product, because Foxconn doesn’t only generate one product or one specific company. But by informing friends and family about the poor treatment of the workers who make some of the products we use on a daily basis, we can raise awareness and maybe they’ll stop buying some of their products. Unfortunately, when writing letters or sending emails to the company president or Congress to encourage them to stop the unethical treatment of workers you are never 100% sure they’ll read it, let alone open it. In my opinion one of the best techniques used for raising awareness would be promoting the information in schools, businesses, etc. By doing this we can organize strikes, petitions, etc. and give them/ preform them in front of the stores that sell these products like Apple. As much as I hate to be negative, most consumers and business people only care about money, they don’t care about what they do or the people they hurt in doing so. With that, we must get to the consumers through they’re weaknesses; their customers. No customers=no money.
4. Alex Blitstein January 30, 2012 at 9:13 pm

   1. The extra money for a product is defiantly better for knowing the workers working conditions are better. The conditions for these workers were so bad in China and they were basically not being paid anything at all. They were being forced to live eat sleep and not leave the facility. They made one giant factory where everything is for the worker. IT seems it would be better to not even have a job because of the seclusion. If we were to pay more knowing that the workers are Americans who are making iPods it would make it worth paying more. It would help out our country in its desperate times. I would be willing to pay around 25 percent more if I were to know the products were made in our country. The apple products and everything are overpriced as is but knowing it is from our country and it would help out it would be worth it.

   2. I think this is just a pointless exercise because the high- ups in companies are already doing so well. If they are able to get insanely cheap labor then why not. In order to help out a problem like this it would be very difficult and really have no chance at all. The owners of companies do whatever possible for them to make as much as possible for as little as possible. These people do not need the huge amounts of money they have. They could just pay their workers better and make it easy on a whole lot of people than just one. If we were able to put a stop to this I think it would have to begin with a stop to outsourcing jobs and then slowly grows from there. We then may be able to try and get a law passed for good working conditions.
5. Jackie Feist January 30, 2012 at 9:33 pm

   Yes, I believe that the extra money is definitely worth better working conditions and more American jobs. Just seeing that Foxconn video I would be willing to pay extra to make jobs less a “living hell”. If paying more for these products would bring more jobs back to America I would gladly pay more. The biggest problem discussed in politics today is how to create more jobs in America. By having these products manufactured in the U.S. it would create thousands of jobs which would be a big contributor to jumping start the economy.
   To stop the mistreatment of workers and to bring american jobs back to the U.S. I would inform my family members and friends about it, but to be honest I really don’t think I can encourage people to stop buying these products. The media is calling this the information age and today people are completely dependent on their smart phones and hand held technology. I really don’t think its possible for America to stop using them, It’s like asking Americans to stop driving gas-fueled cars, or for everybody to stop being obese. I don’t think It’s worth asking people to stop especially since It’s easy to say I won’t use it because I don’t own one. I think we do need to make America more aware of the situation though, I just don’t think asking people to stop buying and using a product that is so popular and such huge part of our economy is going to do anything. I think writing letters and emails to companies in question or to Congressmen is a better way to have the message heard, but the best option. People are busy and will easily forget, I don’t think many people will be anymore willing to write a letter or email than to give up their devices. In my opinion, a petition would be a better approach to the problem, I don’t know how effective it would be but at least there would be more volunteers willing to help the cause.
6. Marcella Apollonia January 30, 2012 at 9:42 pm

   1. Im not even willing to pay the price for electronics as they are now, so if prices were in increase by 25% I still would probably not buy them. However I was appalled when i found out how horrible the working conditions were for the people making the majority of electronics. I knew that the working conditions weren’t good but on a level i feel so ignorant for not knowing just how awful they are. Even using my computer to write this i feel like a bad person because while I’m using it, a factory worker in China could be living a dismal life just so i can have the opportunity to use facebook or twitter. I also don’t understand how the owners of these big electronic companies are willing to put others at risk just for money. No TV,computer, xbox or ipod should ever be worth more then a persons life. So if the factories were to be moved to America I would pay the extra money to know that people aren’t killing themselves over the products that I take for granted everyday. The jobs that would be created would also help the economy in the U.S. greatly. The only downside I see of moving factories is the loss of jobs in China. The people that work in the factories obviously do not work there because it’s fun, they work in horrible conditions because it is the only way they can support their families. I think it would be best if the working conditions were improved greatly and the workers were paid more but in reality I don’t think that the business owners or factory owners are going to do that anytime soon. So if the only way to ensure the health and wellbeing of others is to move factories to America I would pay that price any day.
   2. In todays American society the dollar has become the most important thing, especially to large corporations. I do think that they only believe in profit otherwise why would they be ok with treating their workers so horribly? In order to become an effective roadblock to the companies there would need to be a mass organization of people who disagree with their methods and are willing to stand against it. It would not be effective without large numbers of very well organized people. if only a few hundred people were to stop using a product, or send angry e-mails and letters it would not even phase a large corporation such as apple. I would definitely help in a strike against these companies because they can not continue ruining peoples lives just for profit. It’s sad to see how money has become more important than human lives. If i can help change that by not buying an ipod and informing others of what i now know, I would sleep better at night knowing that i contributed in some way.
7. Audrey Kennedy January 30, 2012 at 9:50 pm

   1. I would agree to pay the $250 more for an ipod, iphone or other electronic devices. I think that is a small price to pay for bringing bug factories to the United States. Knowing that by bringing product production to America will create jobs that Americans need, that should be reason enough to help our country. I don’t think it is fair to have the products manufactured in foreign countries while we are the ones buying and using those products. If we are buying the electronic devices and other products made in countries then we should be the ones to manufacture them ourselves. Also, I would be willing to pay an extra 25% percent for electronics made in the United States because we have laws that protects the working conditions for our employees. If we treated our employees the same way that factories in countries like China treated their employees I would never agree to it. But since there is fair treatment for the workers then it is even better that we try and manufacture goods in America.
   2. I would participate in non-cooperation protests to force American companies to treat their workers, but only to a certain extent. I wouldn’t go to the extremes but I would participate because it would be the right thing to do for our country. I would stop buying the products, and encourage others to stop buying the product. I would feel terrible buying the products if I knew that American companies were treating our workers poorly in order to make them. I would encourage others to join in bringing these jobs to America. Bringing these jobs to the company would improve our economy and employ Americans who desperately need work. I would also inform my friends and family about the poor treatment of workers who make the products because the more people who join forces to bring these jobs back to America the better. I would not however write letters/emails to the company president or congress. That’s not the kind of person I am, and I don’t think that one small person could completely convince the congress about this subject.
8. Jami Laub January 30, 2012 at 9:51 pm

   I would personally be willing to pay an extra 25% percent because I think being treated more fairly should not just come from being paid more. I think it should be something automatic, I think everyone should be treated with respect especially these workers who are only making these products to Benefit everyone. The extra Money though does reassure my thoughts on the products we are receiving because I would like to know that the products imp getting aren’t being made by people who are put into harsh labor and have to work more hours than they should have to work. Also I think without having these products in America would really affect us because we rely on these apple, Sony and etc. Products in our everyday life. Without these things I would feel like something is Missing.

   In order to make our American companies treat their workers better I would write letter to the company president or congress person to tell them to stop treating their workers so poorly because if everyone knew how they treated there workers a lot of people would stop buying from them and it would really effect there Business’s if people stopped buying. I also feel like one of these emails would not really mean anything to the president of a company so I would also get my friends to email and make them more aware of what is going on because not that many people are aware that this type of treatments towards innocent workers is taking place. Also so they realize it a big issue and a lot of people care. If none of these emails ended up working I would stop buying the products from the company until they stop treating the workers like they do, and also bring the production companies back to America where the workers will be treated fairly.
9. Erica Gardner January 30, 2012 at 10:11 pm

   1) I don’t know how much extra I would pay for an electronic device if it were ethically and locally manufactured. Ideally, if the product were high quality and supported the American economy, and I had a steady income, I would probably pay 100% extra. Every time I’d use it, I would be reminded that I’m helping to improve living conditions of people, and I think that would be worth the extra savings. Helping other Americans and sparing workers from endless toil and abuse is definitely more important than some extra groceries. If the product were ridiculously expensive, though, I’d try to avoid buying the product at all, or maybe I would just buy it secondhand. Under no circumstances, however, would I buy it instead from a factory where workers would rather kill themselves than continue living in the awful conditions. It’s horrifying that so many products that we take for granted are created at the cost of other people’s well-being.
   Even though moving the manufacturing to America could solve the problem of unemployment and increase peoples’ standards of living in one fell swoop, I think that it’s unrealistic. I don’t think the general public would be willing to pay an extra few hundred dollars for a product they’ve become accustomed to, just because it is American, especially if they don’t know of the plights of the workers in other countries. It would be valiant to attempt a conversion like this, but at the moment, I don’t think it’s possible. In this economy especially, it would be an unpleasant shock to many to find that a product has increased in price by even just 25%. 25% to some of us might sound small, but to many people with less financial stability and job security, it is a huge difference.

   2) I’m not sure if I would stop buying the product. If it were a product used on a daily basis, like soap, I would continue buying the product. It would be too difficult (not to mention unhygienic) to discontinue its use. However, if it were something like an iPod or a smart-phone, I could probably live without it. I would definitely encourage other people to stop buying the product, and would make an effort to inform my community about the problems the workers face. It doesn’t take much time, but if many people follow suit, it could actually make a difference. However, unless many people take action and the government lends its support, and it is not just some small hopeless organization, I think that it’s futile to try to change the minds and policies of powerful companies.
10. Danielle Borovsky January 30, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    I think that for sure the extra money is worth it if the conditions are better. First off people already buy Apple products that are a ridiculous amount of money. So I think if the consumer is really interested in the product they wont not buy it because of a price change. Also many Americans would have a bigger appeal to apple of they knew they were doing something good and supporting America. Two great examples of this are Toms shoes and American Apparel. Toms shoes is a company that when you buy one pair of their shoes they give a pair to a child in need. Now these shoes are not really that great of a fashion statement or are very good looking but they seem to be the craze these day. This is because people feel okay spending $60 dollars on bad quality shoes with bad foot support simply because they think they are doing a good deed. If people knew that Apple workers were being treated amazing then there would be an appeal to buy these higher priced electronics. My other example is American Apparel. My mother finds the clothes there to be extremely over priced but then I have to explain to her that they cost so much because they are made in America! People don’t mind spending 25 dollars on a colorfull v- neck that looks almost identical to Hanes because it is made in America. I know that personally I would feel the appeal to buy more Apple products if I knew that they were treating there workers correctly.

    I would be willing to do all of those things in order to spread awareness and get the company to change their ways. I think that if you spread awareness and really ut the word out about these situations that company’s would be forced to change the way they did things. My family definitely chooses apple over other companies but we are not avid electronic buyers in general. I have an Iphone, a 5 year old ipod and a macbook pro. My sister has an itouch and my family has 1 desktop mac. We are not the family that every year goes out and buys the newest apple product so cutting back or cutting away from the brand would not be hard for us. I think most people would be able to boycott for the purpose of improving the working conditions.
11. LeDea Bond January 30, 2012 at 10:30 pm

    1. No, I don’t think the extra money is worth it. Paying more money just to know the workers are being treated better isn’t worth in my opinion. I also don’t think it’s worth paying more, even If it means employing more Americans. I agree that employing more Americans is a really good thing and would probably help our economy but is just not worth it. I think products are already expensive as it is and paying more would be insane. I know the workers are being treated badly but I don’t think they should raise the price if it moves to America. I think it’s the owner’s responsibility to treat their workers better. I think just because the workers work in another country to make the American products, they shouldn’t be treated like they are. I think all workers have rights and they should be treated better. I think there should be a way to continue with the workers working on the products but being treated much better. I believe that with better treatment from the owner’s the workers would be happier and wouldn’t mind working to make some of these products.
    2. I would be willing to engage in non-cooperation to a certain level to force American companies to treat their workers better. I can’t honestly say that I would stop buying the products or encourage others to stop buying them. I would write letters and emails to the company president to encourage them to stop their unethical treatment of workers. I would also inform my friends and family about the poor treatment of workers who make the products we use. I think it is very important for everyone to know that people aren’t being treated fairly. I would even encourage others to help bring the jobs back to America to a certain extent, without them raising the prices of the products. Even if the people engage in non-cooperation, I feel it would be pointless because the companies wouldn’t listen to the consumers. The companies only care about the profit they make of the products and not how the consumers feel about the treatment of their workers.
12. Maddi Gonte January 30, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    1.As much as I would love to know that the product’s route of manufacturing was moral and humane, the amount of money being spent and the quality of the product are still big factors in the decision of the purchase. If the product cost %100 more than the original, but isn’t the same quality as the original, then I wouldn’t think that it was worth the purchase. However, I would definitely stray from the larger industries and businesses that mistreat their workers. Things and devices aren’t always necessary… you don’t need them in order to function. I understand that in order to maintain their economic success they need to get large amounts of work done in small amounts of time, but money isn’t everything. Life is short, would you rather fill it with happiness or with money? It’s not the same thing, money doesn’t buy you happiness. It only ensures a comfortable life, not a happy life. If these big businesses think that they can just take away thousands and millions of less fortunate peoples’ happiness, then we, as the consumers, have to show them how very wrong they are. If advocating the idea of MORALS doesn’t do it, then going on strike may be the only way to ensure reforms.
    2.I believe that in most cases, these exercises would definitely be pointless. However, I would engage in every one of them. Although we would have to have an impossible amount of luck in our favor in order to completely reform the negative qualities of the industry, it doesn’t mean that we can’t spark the revolution that would eventually bring it down! By spreading the word, boycotting, and trying to encourage the industry to reform, we may either take down small businesses (which is a start) but we may also educate those who obtain more leadership qualities and who have more capabilities in persuasion/immediate action. In conclusion, our actions could start a chain reaction, and therefore are worth the hard work, even if the outcome that we wish for doesn’t reveal itself in our generation
13. Spenser Robnett January 30, 2012 at 10:39 pm

    1. I think it’s awful that these HUMAN BEINGS have to suffer through the horrors of Chinese factory life and us Americans benefit from the 35 cent hour and 35 hour work days. But to be completely honest, I wouldn’t pay 100% more or even 50%. The Chinese workers don’t have a huge affect on my life and I don’t see how any American would be willing to pay $400 for an iPod. If Americans would be willing to pay that much, I don’t believe that we would have all the outsourcing that we have today in the US. Now, if I knew that paying between 50 – 100% more for an electronic good would create more jobs in America, than I might consider paying more a possibility. I don’t want to sound like a horrible person but the way I see it is the cheaper the product, the higher chance someone will buy as compared to another product. I feel like humans are wired to search for the best deal, but we don’t always weigh out the wrong doings like Fox Conn.
    2. I wouldn’t go very far in engaging in a level of non-cooperation to force American companies to treat their workers better. I am not an extremist when it comes to knowing the wrong doings of large companies. I still where Nikes, still listen to iPods, I still eat Hershey’s chocolate and I feel completely fine in doing so because they are the best products on the market. I wouldn’t even go as far as stop buying the product. I might however join a Facebook group to get knowledge out to people. That’s about how far I would go to inform people about corruption in these huge businesses. I just want to say that I am 100% against what is happening in China and support whomever wants to express their feelings about the corrupt businesses.
14. Bethany Rivera January 30, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    1. If the average American is so caught up in needing to have these products such as the apple iPhone or iPad then why shouldn’t they be willing to pay more. Personally I think that we should bring the jobs home and apple should try to help the U.S before they help other countries. As it stands right now apple is making tons of money off their I products, because  it probably take a quarter of what they are charging to make the product. Therefore if they would be willing to not make as much on each product then we as Americans wouldn’t have to pay so much more for the same product that is morally made. Also by bring jobs back to America apple would be seen as a much better company; so many people are trying to buy all American now to help boost the economy that apple would get a growth in the range of costumes they are already getting. I think it would be worth the extra money to bring the jobs home, Even people that could not afford the latest and greatest because the price was jacked up 25% more would still be able to get close to the next best thing because people are always buying and selling their “old” electronics when something  better come along. This makes it easier than ever to afford new technologies. 

    2. There are so many things that can be done to force American companies to treat their workers better. Most people would believe that they are too small to make a difference on the big companies that seen to overtake the mind of Americans but they are not. No matter how small you seem to be if you are persistent in in why you believe in anything is possible. I would tell my friends and make sure that everyone I know knows what these companies are doing and how they are treating their workers. I would remind people that these workers are not machines and that they still are living breathing human beings and should not be treated like machines. I would express my right to freedom of speech and make sure that my voice would be heard. If I had to I would write a thousand letters to this company. These companies have made enough money off of us and the  bottom line should not be profit it should be making the American economy better and bring jobs to the U.S.
15. Allison Kelley January 30, 2012 at 10:47 pm

    1. Paying more for a product is not something anyone wants to do, but when the alternative is having workers take extra long shifts in terrible conditions for low pay, I would pay a bit more. If the cheapest 8GB iPod Touch costs $200, I might be willing to pay the extra $100 in order for the workers to have better conditions and to help employ Americans in need of work. If that did happen though, I would probably complain about how expensive things we buy are. Going from $200 to $300 is a big price increase. I think it is a really great reason to pay more for the product, but it’s not like I have all the money I want to spend on electronics. When the price rises to $400 for an iPod, I’m not sure if I can honestly say that I would pay double the price for it. That’s a lot of money that I could use for other things. I think that instead I would just not buy it at all, or buy a smaller iPod. However, for someone who has the money to pay the extra price for their electronics, paying extra is better because it helps out a lot of people.
    2. In order to force American companies to treat their workers better, I’m not sure if I would stop buying the product. It depends on the product, but usually you would have to downgrade to a product that is not as good. In our society, having the best phone or other electronic is something everyone wants, and since the problems with the workers aren’t affecting us personally, we may not even consider the feelings of others. If it is a phone, there are plenty of good phones out there that you could buy instead, so I would consider buying a different phone, but I’m not sure if I would do that. I would encourage others to stop buying the product, because it doesn’t take much effort to tell people about the harmful conditions of workers and the importance of buying American products. They might not have even known about this situation, because I didn’t really know about it until we learned about it in class. I’m not sure if I would write letters/emails to the company president and/or Congress person by myself, but if other people wrote it with me I would consider doing that to make a difference. I would inform my family and friends about the poor treatment of workers who make the products we use because they may not have known about it in detail, and it may change their minds about buying products like that. If I were to decide that I was not going to buy products made from these companies, then I would encourage others to join me in bringing these jobs back to America. It would be hard to give up our favorite electronics, but it would help out a lot of people, and could really make a difference in their lives.
16. Cory Shanbom January 30, 2012 at 10:48 pm

    I would be glad to pay $50 more for a product that i know is made in america with equal treatment of it’s workers. I would even be willing to pay 100% more to support the american economy and businesses and not some sweat shop factory ring like Foxconn. I don’t think a 25% price increase will deter the upper and middle class buyers of this product because they already have enough money to buy unnecessary things like these products in the first place. I think that if we moved all of our factories over here, that the economy would start to boom and the unemployment rate would shoot down. People would have more money to afford the price increases because of the success our government would see if it switched it’s labor over. I believe that all manufacturing should come back over to america where there are laws to protect workers.

    I would not stop buying the product. Instead I would push for legal reforms that stop american businesses from manufacturing overseas. I would group together with my community to push for new legislation that stopped companies from contracting with companies that don’t follow our labor laws. This would force the companies to either start making manufacturing in the U.S. or use better labor practices offshore. I honestly don’t think that most of these companies will willingly reform the way they produce their products because of the cost difference between the two options, so it would have to be up to the government to start reforming these companies. In other words, the efforts are useless unless the government steps in and gives these companies specific labor guidelines and regulations to help america’s economy and to make sure our products are made safely. Things like the Foxconn scandal shouldn’t be around and should force our country to take action and stop hiring these companies.
17. Megan Van Ermen January 30, 2012 at 10:51 pm

    1. I think that the extra money is definitely worth knowing that not only are the workers treated better, but it is also helping the economy because more Americans being employed. I disagree completely with the fact the working conditions are so bad in China, and the fact that so many Americans encourage this by buying the products that the workers in China are making. I would without a doubt pay a little bit more knowing that the product I’m buying is made in the U.S. and made with employees that have been treated fairly. Not only is having most electronics made in the U.S. smart in terms of having fair treatment amongst workers, it is also smart because it is helping the American Economy. If electronics were made in America, so many more people would be able to receive jobs. In a time where the unemployment rate is too high, I think that it is smart for companies to move their business to America.

    2. I think I would be willing to engage in a lot of non-cooperation to force American companies to treat their workers better. I think it is so unfair that working conditions are so poor in China, and I would do a lot to end the injustice. Not only would I stop buying the product that is made from unfair labor, I would also convince my friends and family to not buy those products as well. I would also write to the company telling them why my friends, family and I are not purchasing their product. I would also write to them saying how bad I think it is that they are taking advantage of workers in China. If we could get enough people to boycott their product and complain, maybe the electronic companies would bring their factories to America.
18. Sara Pawloski January 30, 2012 at 11:13 pm

    1. Yes, I think that paying the extra money for electronics is definitely worth knowing that employees will be treated properly and that more Americans will get jobs out of the price raise. I think it’s important for everybody to be treated nicely and fairly. The working conditions, working hours and pay are terrible for the workers of Foxconn and these conditions should not keep going on. Something has to be done and if that something is to raise prices on electronics then that’s what should happen. The raise in price on electronics may even end up being not so bad, considering the hours on end kids use on electronic devices. If the prices were to go up on these devices, then not as many kids would be able to get them, which means that more kids would spend their time exercising and doing more productive things than watching tv, playing videogames and goofing around on their itouch.

    2. I would go as far as informing my friends and family about the poor treatment of workers who make the products that we use. A good way to get things fixed and changed is to spread awareness. If tons of people are convinced that the way some workers are treated is unlawful, then there is a better chance that something will be done to change things. Also, awareness will provide people with the information for them to make their own decision on how they want to approach the terrible treatment of workers: whether they want to take a stand and make a difference or carry on regular life, knowing the hardships that the workers must go through on a daily basis to provide us with goods like electronics. If I were to inform all of my friends and family about the problems for the workers at Foxconn, then those people would most likely spread the word and a lot of people would learn about the struggles for the working class, and together, they can make a difference.
19. Eric Scott January 30, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    1. I think it is worth it to pay extra money in order to have electronics made in America. I think it would benefit everybody in America and China. If we pay more for our devices then will be bringing jobs back to America that we need badly. Also the workers in china will not have to work in the bad conditions that they work in now. Also the price of the devices would eventually go up due to inflation. In a way if we pay more for our devices then we are saving people’s life, due to a lot of the workers committing suicide. If we start building our devices in America it will make the working conditions in China better as well. I do think it is worth it to spend a extra fifty to one hundred dollars to make lives easier or workers in China, and to bring jobs back to America. In the end people lives are more important than paying a few extra dollars.

    2. I would probably write letters and email congress. I think this work best because congress they have more power to stop the unethical treatment of workers. If you stopped buying the product it wouldn’t really make a difference because there hundreds of other people in the world that will buy their products. Congress can take it to the president and make it a law. I think if we inform the public of the unethical treatment of the workers in china it would be effective because everybody doesn’t know about it. If we educate the public then more people would email and write to congress which would push them to making it a bill. I don’t think it would be realistic for a lot of people to stop buying products from companies, like Apple there actually have good device and won’t stop buying them because of Apple reputation.
20. Sam Yost January 30, 2012 at 11:42 pm

    1. Yes the extra money is worth knowing that workers are treated better and you are helping to employ Americans. I would be willing to pay up to 50% more because this is very important. If everybody paid a little bit more, we could save many lives. Workers shouldn’t have to commit suicide just for better conditions. Prices wouldn’t go up that much. Chances are if you are willing to pay $200 for an iPod, you have enough money to pay $300. Just a little increase for everybody could be the difference between life and death. The money could also go to saving American jobs. The economy is still pretty bad, and we could use all the help we can get. The money would also go in a circle. If we paid more, there would be more American jobs, and they would spend more money on other products. In the end it would all end up coming back to the original source. If we all spent a little more now, it would come back in the long run.

    2. I would be willing to do all of the activities listed because this is a very important topic. Doing just one of the activities won’t make much of a difference. Sure, you will feel better, but one person won’t make much of a difference. If you did them all, however, you could make a huge difference. The most important thing is just to get the word out there. If you just tell somebody to stop buying a product, they won’t because there is no reason. But if you inform them about these working conditions, you would have a bigger impact. It would be very hard to get companies to change the prices of their products just because a group of people want them to treat their workers better, but it is entirely possible. If their profits go down, they will do anything to fix it.
21. Alina Steinberg 3rd hour January 31, 2012 at 12:03 am

    1. I think that if America started producing its own goods again it would defiantly be worth paying more in the long run. The truth is most Americans would probably still buy the products even with a higher price because, if they want it enough they will spend it. Who knows we probably could be paying even less then we do now but people don’t even seem to give it a second thought. If paying more would not only help the lives of the workers and help Americans get out of the rough economy we are faced with today, it is defiantly worth it because it will all pay off in the long run. It always depends on the quality of the product but if the working conditions are better chances are the product will be too.

    2. I think trying to stop buying the product and informing others about the wrongs being committed and trying to get them to stop buying the product is all a good way of taking action. I would be willing to stop buying the products because I have what I need, I don’t need all of the extra unnecessary forms of technology I would get with an Iphone or anything of that nature, and that small gain doesn’t measure up to the wellbeing of peoples lives and of our country. I couldn’t pick just one form of action to take on it because you can’t try one of those methods with out using several others along with it. This may be a pointless exercise and may make no difference in the way things are done but it isn’t right to sit and do nothing. Even if the only thing you can do is tell a friend to rethink purchasing their new electronic device, every little thing matters and hopefully all of the little things will be strong enough to create a big change in the end.
22. Sarah Pidgeon January 31, 2012 at 1:33 am

    1. I would most definitely be willing to pay the extra money knowing that I was buying a product that was made in America in safe conditions with content happy workers. The fact that I’m writing this essay on a Mac computer that was manufactured by a depressed, potentially suicidal worker disgusts me. The fact is, by giving manufacturers like Foxconn, products like Apple, we are taking away hundreds of thousands of jobs that could have gone to American workers, where we know the workers will be treated properly with the right pay, benefits, and an 8 hour workday. But, you must also consider China, and the reaction they would take to this. The Sino-American relationship depends on China distributing, and America consuming. If and when China stops distributing products like Apple, what will China do? They have bought our debt, and now we are supplying their cashflow by buying their products? Whatever the reaction, it will not be good. In order to accomplish American made products, we must end this relationship with China but do it so in a smart way.
    2. I have already bought the product, and of course will use it until I no longer can, but until there is better treatment of the workers, I will no longer buy the products. I have already told my family about Foxconn and they were astonished! The feeling about the video and information is mutual among all viewers. By doing all of the proposed ideas listed above, the companies will have to listen to the consumer, because with out the consumer, there is no company. If everyone takes a stand to defend the workers and gets the videos and information more widely spread, the affect on companies like Foxconn will be tremendous. The public has a voice, and we must use ours, especially since the workers in Taiwan can’t use their own.
23. Jabrielle Johnson January 31, 2012 at 1:46 am

    1. Spending a little bit more money is worth knowing that the workers are being treated better and that Americans are being employed. The cost of the products isn’t really that much of an issue seen as when the products first came out they costs about the same as the payment of 25 to 50 percent more. If you really couldn’t live without the products, I don’t think it would matter what the cost was, it would be bought with little questioning. I would rather pay a little more and feel great knowing someone who has labored long and hard on this product receives proper pay. Finding out this and knowing that I am also helping my fellow Americans just puts icing on the cake.
    2. In order to get workers to get treated better, I would encourage others to stop buying their product. At the end of the day it is all about money and if the company doesn’t receive a profit for their product they will certainly begin to pay attention to us. If more and more people begin to stop using the company’s products, the company will do something to make the profit that was lost and to get back what was once made. If they see that the only other alternative is that they treat the workers better, then they will make sure it gets done. The American people are very understanding when it comes to hardship, so at first it may be difficult to show them that they should stop buying products they normally would use. I think that once they get a sense of the totality of it, buying these products will be gone quickly. I mean if you think about it, we (the consumer) can live without buying their products, but they (the producer) can’t live without us giving them our money. No profit equals no money for your family.
24. Kevin Dagenais January 31, 2012 at 7:05 am

    1. Yes, I do believe that paying the extra money would be worth it, depending on how much it is increased by. If the product was increased by 50%, then I would buy the product, but nothing higher. Anything higher would be just too expensive, so I will be looking to buy the same product but from a different company. I don’t believe that we should buy products from China because people there are getting over worked and getting barely payed. Buying American-made products even though they will be more expensive will help many Americans have jobs and it will boost the economy. So many people are in need for jobs, so if America started to produce more goods, unemployment rate would go down. Also, I would rather buy a product from a fair company that treats their workers well rather than a company that poorly treats their workers.
    2. To change the company in terms on how it treats its worker, I would encourage others to bring back the jobs to America. Since there are not many jobs open these days, people in America have to work in poor working conditions because they have no other job if they quit. But if the products are made in America, then there will be more open jobs. Since there would be more open jobs, more people would be able to quit their job if they believe they are treated badly, and get a new one easily. Also, I believe that so many people do not have jobs because a lot of the products that we buy are made in other countries. If we reduce the amount of foreign goods bought, and actually increase the amount of production in America, the economy would be better and many more people would be working and having a better life.
25. Mason C January 31, 2012 at 7:36 am

    1. To help the treatment of the Chinese workers, and the pay, I would be perfectly willing to pay a little more. I think it’s a little pricey, but I would pay 50% more for an 8 GB IPod without a big problem. It’s only an increase from 200 to 300 dollars, and it is for a good cause. To pay 400 dollars, that would be a little ridiculous, but I think people would still buy them. They would be even more influenced to spend more, if they knew how badly the workers at places like Foxconn were being treated. I myself would not spend 400 dollars though. I think it is not worth that much and I would rather not buy it. The extra money is definitely worth it if the workers are getting treated better. I thing Moral treatment of human beings is worth much more than money. It even helps more if it employs more Americans. This could greatly improve our economy, and struggle with unemployment.
    2. To make people aware of the horrible treatment of workers, I would probably tell my friends and family. I would do this so more people are educated and informed on the issue. Many people know of bad treatment in foreign workplaces, but many don’t know it’s as bad as Foxconn is. I personally and honestly don’t have enough will power to go to an extreme extent to help. I am willing to inform others though. I know that if it spreads, and people know, then certain individuals could take action. Also if everyone is aware, our government, and main electronic companies will acknowledge the peoples disapproval. Through just knowing, and may be people refusing to by the product, companies could stop horrible treatment of Chinese workers, and start production in the U.S. If production of products such as Apple occurred in the U.S., it would provide many needed jobs for Americans. Stopping unethical treatment of workers, and moving production to America, would help our nation greatly, as well as relieve the Chinese workers.
26. Piper S January 31, 2012 at 7:37 am

    The way people are treated in China is immoral and the higher price of the electronics would be worth people being treated better and employing jobs in America. I think higher prices are worth it because if I were in China, I wouldn’t want to be treated poorly so I don’t want anyone else to be treated poorly. I feel as though if I know I am helping people, I would easily agree to have higher prices for electronics. So I say that it is worth it because there is a need of jobs all over America and we would be helping other people go from being treated like slaves to being treated like workers in America.

    The level of non-cooperation I would be willing to force companies that make parts for their computers/electronics to treat their workers would be to inform other people about what I going on in China and to try to get jobs back to America. I would inform people about what is going on and how people are being treated because some people might not know that other human beings are being treated so poorly while trying to make things we use every day. The least I could do is tell people about what the workers are going through. I would also encourage others to join me in getting jobs to America because there is a desperate need for jobs still and they aren’t doing the right thing over in China. Overall, some companies don’t care about how they treat people as long as they make profit, but at least people are trying to do something, to help the workers. Maybe if the workers at Foxconn knew people were trying to help them wouldn’t attempt to take their lives. So the way I think of it is, if I help out, I can help save a life.
27. Jacob G. January 31, 2012 at 7:44 am

    1. I would diffidently be willing to pay slightly more for my iPod if I knew it was supporting American jobs. Not without a ceiling though. There would be a limit to what I would be willing to pay, probably around $500 for the cheapest iPod. But there are other ways that we can support American manufacturing. There is are stores called St. Croix clothing, or Allen Edmonds which manufacture their clothing here. I often times buy my dress clothing from these two stores even though it costs more, there is a certain pride in buying American. It cannot quite be equated or even on the same level as patriotism but none the less you are going out of your way on principle to try and support your fellow countrymen. So when you can support something as wholesome as American jobs that in the case of a Allen Edmonds require a rather lost skill of making shoes with a quality, why bother to support the massive amounts of suffering that companies like foxxcom are causing. I know that these two clothing stores are not high-tech manufacturing jobs but it is most certainly better than what is going on in the People’s Republic of China as far as clothing is concerned. If an American company were to start manufacturing a product that I need and isn’t excessively expensive I would more likely try to buy it rather than something that came from China.

    2. I would diffidently stop buying the product if I felt the company was excessively insensitive to their worker. For example you will no longer see me wearing Nikes. For I wholeheartedly believe that how many of their workers are treated is not right. Most of my shoes come from Creative Recreation, which also manufacturers some of its products in China but it also produces wears in both Italy and orange county California. I also have informed others whom I thought may not have known about the cruelty Nikes looks the other way from. But I will not go as far as to write to them about their abusive labor practices. They are well aware of what they are doing and have no plans on ending it. Letters to a massive company are quite unlikely to affect them much in the way that a single vote in a large election will never have affect. But if enough people vote with their wallets the company will have to take notice. People and companies don’t like being told what to do this is a psychological barrier against issues like this. So it is better to protest their practices by not buying their products this will allow them to realize for themselves that there is a problem and they will try to fix it.
28. Brendan Dwyer January 31, 2012 at 7:46 am

    1.) If prices are 25% higher on American made products, I would gladly pay the extra 25% for American made products. I would pay the extra 25% to make sure that the workers who made the product were being treated well because they’d be working in nice, American factories. The American factories have regulations and laws that they have to follow that consider the workers’ safety, and health. Meanwhile, in China, the factories pay their workers 31 cents per hour, and they have to put nets around their buildings to ensure that the workers won’t commit suicide. In my opinion, this is just wrong. No one should be buying products made like this. Also, buying American made products would stimulate the U.S. economy. When we buy products made in America, we are giving money to American businesses and the government, which would help us pay off our debt. It would also bring many jobs back to America, which in turn would lower the unemployment rate. Also, we shouldn’t be buying so many products from China in the first place, considering we owe them about 12 trillion dollars. I’d much rather help out the U.S., over supporting these awful Chinese factories.

    2.) I’d perform all of these activities in order to force factories to treat their workers better. If the factory was like Foxconn, I would: stop buying the product, encourage others to do the same, write letters to congress and the factories showing that I don’t approve, inform everyone I know, and I’d encourage others to help me bring these jobs to America. I believe that if everyone knew, no one would support factories like these. Even though a lot of people probably wouldn’t support these factories, the factories would probably still stay open. This is because these factories are only worried about making a profit, and they don’t care about what people think of them, and any workers who quit would easily be replaced.
29. Lucas A 3rd hour January 31, 2012 at 8:02 am

    I would be willing to pay more for an electronic made in the united states cause it would be made ethnically. It doesn’t matter that you would have to pay a couple more dollars for it, cause it would be made from the place where we actually live. But this is just me l, other people might have different views. If the product was over 50% than I would probably not buy it cause it is to much money for me to afford. I would be willing to pay under the 50% limit but anything over that I would not do. 

    If the us does not treat there workers better that I would probably stop buying the product. It is not right that people get paid 31 cents per hour to make these things. To me they are worth alot more than that. I would also just email the bosses and try to show them that what they are doing is very wrong. I think that emailing would be effective but if they don respond to them than I would kept in emailing them and emailing them. They would eventually know that they should not mess with how much the workers are paying. 
30. Grant Bail January 31, 2012 at 8:14 am

    If the extra money that I spent was going towards employing Americans, then I would be more than happy to pay extra. There is a limit to this though: I don’t believe that anyone besides the most fanatical and patriotic American is willing to pay more than 25% on an item. Anything I could do to help America expand its workforce/ update and expand its manufacturing base is money well spent in my opinion. While this might also help the workers conditions, I seriously doubt that it will. The bosses of China’s factories are basically less politicalized oligarchs, much more ready to fill their wallets rather than have the worker earn 50 cents a day. I don’t believe any American genuinely wants to see China prosper; instead, most people view China as a rival and future military confrontation. Since most Americans believe this, why would any American want to help the Chinese?

    To stop these companies from manufacturing in China I would definitely stop buying the product, inform others about how the company treats its workers, and encourage others in bringing these jobs back to America. I wouldn’t email or write to the company, because it’s a pointless cause; the company won’t listen to one consumer, only many can make something as large as a multi-national corporation change. If I stopped buying the product, it would definitely make a political statement in my circle of friends, but in the short/long term, the company could care less. The same thing goes towards encouraging my friends in buying the product; while some will and others can’t live without their iPhone, it won’t affect the company in the long run. The only thing that could do lasting harm to the company would be to reason to a person’s emotions in bringing jobs back to America. No one in America today wants to see it as a European country; overloaded with debt, people rioting in the streets, and the government sacrificing more and more of the economy to foreign creditors. By arguing with people about the benefits of manufacturing in America, it could definitely hurt the company and force them to come to America.
31. Tim Dijkstra January 31, 2012 at 8:17 am

    1. I personally believe that products need to be made more ethically. Having the prices of products spike %50 or %100 would defiantly be worth it to me, even if the products were not made in America. The treatment of workers in factories like Foxconn is unbelievably bad. Forcing workers to have 30 hour work days while getting paid just $.30 an hour is cruel. These workers are human, and deserve to be treated as such. If the companies were to shift production to America than that would, of course, be even better. Having products manufactured in America would guarantee that the workers receive ethical treatment, due to many different laws and legislatures. Having a product made in America also has the added benefit of employing Americans which would in turn help the unemployment rate decrease and possibly better the economy. This may just offset the ‘Horrors’ of paying more for a product, which many Americans would find awful.

    2. Getting a large manufacturing company like Foxconn to change its ways would be hard. These companies are happy making the profits they’re making in the conditions they’re being made in. To make a difference there needs to be a large enough movement to make the companies notice. Boycotting the product would be the best method, I believe. Companies like Foxconn are focused on profits. They care about $$$ not people. If they profit margins of a product were to decrease due to the unethically treatment and awful environments in which they are made, then maybe, just maybe, the companies would change their ways. Using the word of mouth to get family/friends involved would be the best way to get people involved, instead of having them hear it on the internet or news broadcasts. Sending e-mails to a company president wouldn’t do much. Most, not all, but most wouldn’t even bother to read them.
32. Nick Gruich January 31, 2012 at 8:50 am

    1. I think that in order to stop this horrible mistreatment of workers in these factories I would be willing to pay up to 25 dollars more but nothing over that on an iPod, iPhone, PS3, Xbox, and other products that this company manufactures. I think that some extra money is worth knowing that the product I am buying was manufactured in America and did not have very bad mistreatment of workers. I think that if you are paying over 50 dollars more for a product that is already expensive it becomes more of an incredible luxury that upper middle class and up can afford. All of these products are luxuries anyway also so people do not “need” them. This puts the companies making them in a difficult position because people could stop buying them if their prices become too unreasonable and way out of too many people’s budget range.

    2. I think that I would not be able to encourage my friends and family to write letters and stop buying these products because they have become a very important in everyday life and recreation. I think that the best way to get these companies to stop using China and Foxconn to make their electronics and parts would be to stop buying their products because there is no point in these companies making products if no one is buying them because they wouldn’t make any money by this. I think that if enough people stopped buying these products and the corporations saw that their profit started to decline rapidly and harshly then they would think about losing the cheap labor and start to employ Americans and good wages to make the products so that people would start buying again and the American economy would get a lot better. IT would create many jobs in America.
33. Joshu Vance January 31, 2012 at 8:58 am

    1. I would be more than willing to pay more money for a product if its workers are respected. I think it’s worth it because less people would be quitting their jobs and it would stimulate the economy because the company has more funding. Seeing employees treated how Foxconn treats theirs makes me feel bad about buying products and may even cause me to rethink it. Paying a couple extra dollars is worth it as long as I have the peace of mind knowing I’m not making the workers’ life much worst. It is basically paying extra money for someone to have a better life. Also, it would fund American companies. If any American company treated their workers this way, it would be unconstitutional and give us an even worse reputation.
    2. Honestly, the highest level of non-cooperation I would take is writing letters or emails to the company president or Congress for better treatment of the workers. I’m not sure if my friends and family would even listen if I tried to talk them out if buying this product. I wouldn’t even stop buying this product (though I would probably buy less of it) because we live in a world where the product this company makes is such a vital source of communication and information. Most people wouldn’t listen if I tried to get them to stop buying, so me being one of the only few people without this product would be making it too hard on me pointlessly. I would inform my friends and family about the treatments of workers in this company, but I’m not sure this would go very far. I would encourage my friends and family to write letters too so this concern could be in the public and I guess Congress would have to at least acknowledge it.
34. Claire Weber January 31, 2012 at 9:01 am

    1: Ethically made technology would be a great thing for America and other countries. Although I think that it would be better to treat the workers in a more appropriate way, I don’t have a job yet which means that I don’t have the kind of money to pay more for an IPod. My parents pay for all of my phones, etc, so it is hard to get my opinion now instead of when I start a career. If I were an adult, I would probably pay more for American made technology but at a lower cost than $250 dollars for an IPod, when they are only $100 now. If the owners of the businesses made the prices higher than people wouldn’t have a choice. What the true question is if the managers are willing to risk losing business by raising the price. Once they decide to do so, then customers can decide what they want to do.

    2: To enforce American companies to treat the workers better I would most likely stop buying the products as well as informing my friends on the problems. The best way to strike against a business is to take away the customers. If people spread word that the company is unfair and needs to be stopped, others will follow along. Once this is done, then the companies will see that they need to listen to the people’s words. I personally wouldn’t write a letter to the company unless I felt strong about the strike. Letters can sometimes do a lot but other times the effect is nothing. The best way to get what you want is to take what the companies needed most, customers. Without customers, the businesses will fail to sell and stay in business. Being complicated matter, every situation is different and sometimes different techniques need to be used.
35. Katie Quasarano January 31, 2012 at 10:03 am

    Personally, I would definitely be willing to pay more money for an electronic device made in America. The general public may not feel the same way. Paying an extra $100 for an iPod may seem ridiculous to some people, but if you look at the big picture it is so much better for our country. If our electronics were made in America, that would create several factories and several jobs. Also if our products were made here, the labor laws we have in place here would protect those who assemble these products. I would be willing to pay twice as much for an iPhone, but it takes more than just one determined consumer to make a change. The increased cost of labor might make prices of our phones go up, but it would make our county’s unemployment rate go down.
    Everyone should be willing to do all of these things to get companies to move to America. I feel that many of my fellow students said in their blog responses that be willing to boycott companies and raise awareness, but can us teenagers really live without or tunes? Can we really exist without our smart phones? How will the world go on if we can’t update our statuses or tweet right when we want to? I, who cares very deeply about ethical treatment of workers, can admit that giving up my electronics would be extremely difficult. While writing letters and informing the public is important, we won’t be able to get the attention of these companies until we affect their profit. The only way we will ever get their attention is to take away the one thing they care about: money. If companies saw that people actually cared enough to affect their bottom line, they might actually do something about it. The power of the press is strong, and bad press is the worst thing a company like Foxconn can get. If we as the future of America did something about this, we can actually make a change before this becomes a serious problem for our country and for the workers overseas.
36. brad d January 31, 2012 at 10:04 am

    Well I think the ipod touch is already over priced so I don’t think there should be a big increase in price. The company makes enough of a profit and I think that if they were to employ American workers to build it they could lower their profit margin a little bit and would in return increase their sales from the people who can now afford to buy one or maybe offer employee discounts to your new American workers. I wouldn’t mind paying two hundred and fifty dollars for the new American made ipod because I know my money is going to a good place. I might have to wait a little longer to save the extra fifty maybe seventy five dollars but I think it is worth it to create American Jobs. I would not pay upwards of three hundred to four hundred dollars because that is way to much for something that probably costs 25 to make right now.

    I think I would do all of those things I have an ipod and a phone that plays music so I don’t need to buy anything for a long time. I would deffinatly recommend to my friends that they don’t buy the apple products until change happens and the workers are being treated fairly and are making a good salary. I think the whole world should have the same working rights and should be treated equally weather they are a CEO or a factory worker. I don’t think I would write a letter though I do feel it isn’t fair but I don’t feel it is that important.
37. Merrill Watzman January 31, 2012 at 10:18 am

    1. Yes, I think that the extra money is definitely worth knowing that the workers are treated better and that I am helping employ Americans, but to a certain extent. To charge 100% more for an ipod might be a little much, but at the same time it would boost the economy and create jobs if these products were made in America. If popular products like apple, sony, etc. were produced and manufactured in America I would have a much higher interest in purchasing one. Knowing that the higher price would guarantee better conditions for the workers making them, I would say that treatment of workers outweighs the cost of the product. I feel this way after seeing the daily show because I had no clue how poorly the Chinese factory workers were being treated. I’m sure that most people in our country know that working conditions in China aren’t ideal, but very few people know exactly how bad they are. If popular companies were to significantly increase the cost of their products in America, I think that they should educate the public as to why they are doing so.
    2. To force American companies to treat their workers (or companies that make the parts for their computers/ electronics) better, I would do all of the following: stop buying the product, stop buying the product, write letters / emails to the company president and / or Congress person to encourage them to stop this unethical treatment of workers, inform my friends and family about the poor treatment of workers who make the products we use, and encourage others to join me in bringing these jobs back to America. Despite the enormous effort it would take to convince my friends and family to boycott these products, I’m not sure that they would. America’s dependence on technology is too high for people to just stop using popular products. I think that the best way to get American companies to treat their workers better is to educate the public like I stated in the previous answer. If people actually knew what was going on they would be much more compelled to put a stop to it.
38. Emma Dolan January 31, 2012 at 10:19 am

    1. Since the majority of our country’s products are made in China, bringing the production back to the United States will have both positive and negative effects, the most controversial of which being cost. From an ethical standpoint, paying more is completely worth improving the living conditions of thousands of overseas workers. The conditions exhibited in the Foxconn factories are startling. In present day United States, suicide strikes and rapid worker turnover aren’t part of our technology industry. If conditions in a factory are bad enough that workers commit suicide, something needs to be changed. If that’s moving production back home and risking low prices, it’s worth it just to help out world as a whole to improve and stand on level ground with one another. The controversy regarding price increase is the depression we are in. Although things may cost more, manufacturing in the United States creates jobs and could possibly attribute to helping the country out of its current economic crisis. We consider out country a superpower—but can it remain a force to be reckoned with if we continue or reliance on foreign goods? The United States is the ‘land of the free.’ The laborers making our products are far from that, and improving the lives of those abroad is more than worth sacrificing price.
    2. Engaging in a major level of boycott/non-cooperation is important to make our position known regarding the way these factories treat their workers. Each of the methods suggested are reasonable and plausibly effective; the problem is convincing Americans to change our consumption with an argument coming from only an ethical appeal. We need to make a stand, and whether or not the Foxconn will listen can’t be determined. Foxconn is a corporation large enough to have little care for those it employs, and might not listen to us. On the other hand, a widespread protest threatening business could get its attention—either way, something needs to change.
39. Emily Scherrer January 31, 2012 at 10:19 am

    1) I do think it is worth it to pay more money to create better working conditions and more jobs for Americans. It is unfair how they are treated and the more jobs we can create for people, the better. However, saying that I don’t know how much I would be willing to pay. I would be willing to pay 25% but I think that if people end up paying 50% more for an IPhone then how much will everything else cost? If you are paying 300$ for a phone, then I think prices for everything else will start to go up because companies will see people paying that much and will realize that they can make their products cost that much as well. If all of the companies start to make their products cost more and more, the economy will just keep sinking down into nothing. If the workers really did go on strike for a long enough period of time, or did quit their jobs I think the company would have to do something about it. The company needs workers, and if they quit then they have no one to do the jobs and no way to make the money.

    2) I think I would be willing to stop buying the product. Everyone should be able to give up an electronic device; it shouldn’t have that much of an impact on your life. People are so attached to technology these days and it really shouldn’t matter as much as it really does. I think that as many letters, or emails the Congress or President of the company receives really isn’t going to change their mind. Obviously they only have one goal, and that is to make money. They don’t care if in the process people are threatening to commit suicide just because of their jobs. If the Congress and President really did care, they would have stopped right then when people threatened to kill themselves just because of the working conditions they are supplying.
40. Alexander Erickson January 31, 2012 at 10:36 am

    Yes to me I would totally uderstand in playing 25% more toward any electronics to have the peace of mind that all my money is staying in the U.S and that it isn’t going anywhere we as a country will not have access or have it. If all Americans could follow up and do this as well then as acountry I beliveve we can quickly and swiftly get out of this economic slump that we seem to be stuck in. As soon as we can get out of this slump I believe a lot of are problems as a country will slowly or quickly evaporate and disappear as long as we can regain are strong and powerful economy. This will overall help the health of are country and everything we stand for.

    I belive if that a way to convince companies that to move there offshore factories is if there shareholders and stock holders thurrowly believe that this is wrong and we should more or else companies will just listen to there wallets and profit margins. So unless we can convince preety much the whole U.S population that this is wrong and must be changed and then proceed to boycott and not buy there products which would then cut into the companies profit margin nothing will ever happen.
    If we can drop there profits to the point moving to the U.S is more profitbale change will happen. But, until then nothing will be accomplished and nothing will happen.
    So to get this to get started there has to be a large scale effort I believe by the goverment and many other organizations to get that idea out there you must reach wide scale audiencies via tv, radio and internet. You cannot give up you have to relentlessesly advertise the evils of these kind of corpoate evils to everyone you can to actually make a boycott reasonably effective. Because if only a region of people stop the company will continue because they have such a big wide custmer base.
41. Nathan Gaenssle January 31, 2012 at 10:54 am

    1. To improve the America’s economy, you have to be willing to pay more for products, it is a given. Now some product will become less excisable to the public, but most of those are needs not wants like phones and iPods. Everyone in America needs to stop living in a life style that they can’t afford, from the 1% to the poor. If you can’t afford an iPod or a computer, then you can’t, and the businesses suffer, but that is the cycle of capitalism. We can’t let businesses use this loop hole to beat the competition and we can’t live this illusion of a higher standard of life. We should demand a higher standard from American business like Apple, Microsoft, Ford, and Gm that they put the needs of the people before their own and cut their income.
    2. To get businesses to go your way, you need to do all of these things. We as the consumer hold more power than we think, but we don’t come together to use that power. If we stop buying a company’s products and we tell them why we are not buying them, then they will know what we want. The most important thing, though, is that it won’t happen right away. The companies can hold out for while, but once they start losing money, they will have to give in. We need to show companies that we want a change and we want it now. As long as no one stands up against them, they won’t do anything. We can’t wait for our government to do something about it because it won’t happen for years. America’s social changes have happened because the people stud up for what they wanted. They came together and fought until they got what they wanted.
42. Clark Lindsay January 31, 2012 at 11:10 am

    1 – An extra bump in the price of the product would be a perfectly reasonable trade-off to have the products ethically made. I would go as far as 50-60% more in cost before I would start to become unsure about it. And once these price bumps happen, they don’t have to be permanent. If we bring the plants here to America and start working on how we can make the plants more economically and ecologically efficient we would begin to see the prices fall again. Maybe not back to their original levels, but to something much more reasonable. Also, with more Americans holding the jobs and buying stock and products of the company (because they now can afford to) Apple could further lower the price of the ipod because they could (potentially) expect to sell more of them.

    2 – The unethical treatment of these workers needs to stop. I would try to spread the word about the treatment of these workers and how much we could benefit by bringing those factories, and therefore those jobs, back to America. I would also gladly write to the president, and correspondents, and or “Congress Person” to try and change their mind about the way they are managing their plants and their workers. However, I can’t quite say I wouldn’t buy the company’s product. Although the unethical treatment of these workers is wrong beyond a doubt, I’m not sure if I could convince myself it’s worth dropping my precious ipod, or tv, or xbox or computer. These things have been so engrained into the American way of life that imagining living without them is a difficult prospect. But, if this becomes further unethical and further cruel then we may be forced to boycott the goods and return real, ethically managed jobs back to America where we so dearly need them.
43. Logan Mendelson January 31, 2012 at 11:23 am

    1) The extra money is worth knowing that not only are the workers treated better, but you are helping employ Americans. Even though it is much cheaper if we allow Foxconn to abuse the labor over in China and make the products in spite of working conditions at the factory, the thought of having a piece of technology that is made for safe working conditions is comforting enough to pay an extra $100 or so. It also makes me feel like I am helping pay for the cost of American jobs that are in need. If the technology is made in America, it helps our economy and not the one in China. Once we understand and more people are aware of how the products are built, I believe that many more people would feel the same way that I do. In the This American Life from Mike Daisey, he talks about how Apple must know what is going on inside the factory, but seem to not care. Even though other companies have their merchandise built there, “Apple has said for years that they want to be the leaders.”

    2) The farthest I would go alone is to send an email or letter to the companies, but I would do it to Apple, Foxconn, and even the President of the United States of America. I may encourage others to join me, and then we may go so far as to form a group to inform the public of how unethical the production is. It may affect the people’s outlook on international business, but the big companies would only pay attention when they actually start losing money or lowering profit amounts. Those major corporations are too stubborn to realize that what they are doing is wrong. Like I said before, paying a little extra money isn’t as bad as the thought of men, women, and children in pain from too much labor.
44. CalebHunter January 31, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    willing to pay?  If the cheapest 8GB iPod Touch costs $200, would you be willing to pay 50% more at $300?  What about 100% more at $400?  I don’t where the Daily Show got its numbers from, but it said less than 25% which would make the iPod touch cost $250.  Is the extra money worth knowing that not only are the workers treated better, but you are helping employ Americans?  Why or why not? I think the extra money is worth paying to know that the apple product in my hand was ethically made, but to an extent. I would think spending more than $25 for a product to be made in America would not be practical. I say so because I dont think the American people would pay more just because the product was made in a more ethical environment. For example, if consumers had the choice between an Apple iPhone 4s made in America that cost $225-425 vs. an Apple iPhone 4s made in China that cost $200-400 (with both phones having the same features and functionality), i think the majority of consumers would choose the less expensive option, with the origin of the product not making a significant statistical difference. I would be in the majority of that statistic. I also think that companies that decided to turn on Foxconn and build their own factories would be faced with less people buying their products, which is why the companies that are affiliated with Foxconn still are. Also, the raising price of goods (simply made in America) would ultimately create a gap between the rich and the poor. For example, when the original iPhone came out, it cost $500, which is why I had to choose between getting only the iPhone for Christmas and getting a cheaper phone + a few other things. I could not get everything I wanted because I was not rich, and neither was the rest of my family. When the iPhone 3G came out, my entire family got it, not because it was newer, but because it was cheaper. Ultimately what I am trying to say is that if goods became more expensive, they would subsequently be restricted to more lower/middle class citizens.

    2. What level of non-cooperation would you be willing to engage in to force American companies to treat their workers (or companies that make the parts for their computers/ electronics) better?  Would you:

    stop buying the product?
    encourage others to stop buying the product?
    write letters / emails to the company president and / or Congress person to encourage them to stop this unethical treatment of workers?
    inform your friends and family about the poor treatment of workers who make the products we use?
    encourage others to join you in bringing these jobs back to America?

    That is a hard question. I really enjoy my cell phone and macbook; they are my life. I would so be nothing without them. Therefore I could not stop buying newer versions of these products. I could try to encourage others to stop buying the product, but I probably will not be as effective as another person doing this because it would contradict how I feel about the situation. I think writing letters to company officials about the negative working conditions would be most effective, because this seems like the most practical option to do and (usually) the companies listen. I believe that if enough people stood together and erite letters, it would be a great step in reaching a compromise.
45. Alex Lurz January 31, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    1. I don’t really think that I would be willing to pay a lot more money for a product just because I know that it is American made. I may sound a bit crude in saying this, but for me as long as the product does what I want it to I could care less where it is made. In saying this I do think that making products abroad is bad for the economy, but personally if making them here would be more expensive I can see why a business would want to make its products overseas. I think that it would be a little easier to purchase these products if they were cheaper, and I knew that the Chinese were treating their workers respectfully. However, right now that is not the case, so I just have to deal with knowing that the goods I purchased were made through horrible labor practices.
    2. I think that petitioning these issues by the general public would be almost useless. If anything is to be done then I think that the government is the one that needs to be the one taking action. I think that if I personally was running a business I would want to make a profit, but would also want to have happier employees, because in doing that it might give my company a better name. That being said I also believe that most companies nowadays really only care about making a profit. This is why we see the blatant mistreatment of workers. I would like to see something done about these issues in the long run, because in reality it is heartbreaking to to see things like this happening. Maybe the government could make a policy for American companies that would enforce the same rules for workers that they enforce on companies here in the states.
46. Stephen Brown January 31, 2012 at 2:39 pm

    Stephen Brown
    1. We’ve discussed the idea of paying more for electronics if they are ethically made, especially here in America. But how much more would you be willing to pay? If the cheapest 8GB iPod Touch costs $200, would you be willing to pay 50% more at $300? What about 100% more at $400? I don’t where the Daily Show got its numbers from, but it said less than 25% which would make the iPod touch cost $250. Is the extra money worth knowing that not only are the workers treated better, but you are helping employ Americans? Why or why not?
    Unfortunately, as much as I say I would pay any amount of money more for an ethically made product I would say that at most, I would pay 50% more. That’s the nature of the beast though; the cheapest products are the most profitable. They are also the most accessible. By raising the prices it pulls these technologies that much farther from a family or person in America. Even 25% is substantial, that might hurt the businesses making these products. On a moral level I am 100% for moving these products to America, but from a more business standpoint, not as much. The main difference is that people didn’t know about this before and that’s why they kept doing it. It didn’t negatively affect them or their profits. To answer the initial quest, yes I think paying 25-50% more is worth it to employ Americans.
    2. What level of non-cooperation would you be willing to engage in to force American companies to treat their workers (or companies that make the parts for their computers/ electronics) better? Would you:
    • stop buying the product?
    • encourage others to stop buying the product?
    • write letters / emails to the company president and / or Congress person to encourage them to stop this unethical treatment of workers?
    • inform your friends and family about the poor treatment of workers who make the products we use?
    • Encourage others to join you in bringing these jobs back to America?
    I think that I would do all of things listed here. I don’t buy technology all that often, and when I do its older so that shouldn’t be an issue. All of these are very small things that could easily be done to try and remedy this incredible moral dilemma. The hardest one for me to do would be the letter writing because, that would mean I’d have to do stuff. Judging by the fact that this blog is tardy writing a letter might not go so well.
    Or, is this just a pointless exercise in futility and these companies won’t listen to its consumers? The companies will only listen to the bottom line and that’s making the bottom line = profit.

    That was what had been happening. Companies are very cheap. I mean that they as long as they can get away with cutting corners they will. Until unethical treatment of workers in Asia starts losing technology companies they will continue doing it. The only way to change this is to inform people. If people know and are willing to forgo using the technologies until the problem is remedied then they companies will undoubtedly change.
47. Kian S. 2nd Hour January 31, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    1. Yes I think that we as Americans should be paying more attention to the products that come to our country as the manufacturers are making the prices for things like iPods, computers, and phones so cheap for us. Now there is an advantage and disadvantage to this. We all know that one of the advantages to this is that we get some of our favorite electronics for a reasonably good price, which I can say appeals to most people. But there are disadvantages to this as well. One disadvantage to this is that the Chinese workers are working in such harsh conditions. Another disadvantage to this is that Apple is moving a big portion of their company to China; well some people might say what the disadvantage to that is. The bad part about that is thousands of jobs are being given to these Chinese workers instead of Americans. Someone else might also say well why not just give the jobs to Americans, the reason to that are simple “Money”. Apple is making more money by hiring Chinese workers because they are more willing to work for less pay and in horrible conditions, but that also gives to the reasons why Chinese workers are having suicide thoughts. Like I said I think that we should all think about this situation.

    2. I think that it is pretty hard to stop people from buying an IPod especially when their getting it for such a good price, so I really don’t think that stopping consumers from buying these products would resolve this issue. We should also be willing to compromise with these companies, saying that we would be willing to pay maybe 15% more if it means better care for the workers. But I think that the most important thing is to encourage jobs to the United States. Considering that are economy is already in a whole. We could really use for jobs, the government would save money on import tariffs coming from China.
48. Grace Lee January 31, 2012 at 3:26 pm

    1. Well, it’s mostly my parents’ money that buys these products for me…I think that even if we started paying more so that the Chinese workers wouldn’t have to suffer that much, Americans would still be a little frustrated. I’m not saying that all Americans are cruel, but taking these companies out of China doesn’t mean that American’s would magically have more money to pay the extra amounts. Personally, when I start working and start earning my own money, I would not mind spending the extra money, but I probably wouldn’t want to buy as many products. There are people that are super rich and paying an extra $100 isn’t that big of a deal for them, but for me, I would understand that maybe I don’t need the iphone…I think a lot of people would be in that situation where they would start buying less products because there are always people that are in the higher class that can afford the products.
    2. I wouldn’t stop buying products altogether, but I would have the mindset that I don’t need those products. Not that I believe an iphone is necessary now, but I wouldn’t want it as badly because I somewhat understand that money doesn’t come with a lot of work so blowing it off on the latest technology wouldn’t be the smartest choice to make.
    I wouldn’t encourage others to stop buying the products because it’s their decision, but I would help them become aware of what certain people go through in order for the products to become available for us to buy. Honestly, I think that Congress and our government probably already get lots of complaints about situations like these so my letters or opinions wouldn’t make that much of an impact. I would learn more about how we could bring the jobs to America and somehow try to help.
49. Alexis Zerafa January 31, 2012 at 3:54 pm

    1. I would be willing to pay at lease fifty percent extra if it meant that the workers over in china would be paid better and treated better. I think it would be totally worth it because if a company is bad enough that people are willing to do a suicide protest paying a little extra would be well worth having those people be treated fairly. It is not right for anyone to be treated so unfairly when they are just trying to earn an honest living. Also with the recent unemployment crisis it is important that America gets as many job opportunities that it could possibly have. It is also important that we become less dependant on foreign countries to make our goods and start to make our own products in order to become much more self sufficient.
    2. I would be willing to engage in a lot of non-cooperation in order to force American companies they treat their workers or companies that make the parts for those products better. The first step would be to stop buying the product altogether. Also you can engage other people in the same protest and prompt them to stop buying the products also. Another good way to protest if your not willing to stop buying the products would be to send the company emails or write letters voicing your concerns. Or you could create a petition to get signatures. Another good thing to do would be to spread the word and inform you friends and your family about the poor treatment and injustices that the workers face of the products we use. It is very important to encourage others to join you in you request to bring these jobs back to America, because one person can make a difference, but if we all band together our voices become even stronger.
50. Natalie S. 3rd Hour January 31, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    1)Though paying extra for a product like an iPod is ALWAYS worth the better treatment of human beings, I cannot say I’d be willing to pay any price for it. I simply couldn’t afford it. 25% seems doable, but 50-100% seems very unreasonable. Creating American jobs and/or getting better working conditions for workers in other nations is important enough to pay extra (although it is ridiculous because the products are already overpriced, so much so that they’d still make a profit with the same price in America) but there is a limit to not how much the average American WILL pay, but how much they CAN pay. Some people can barely afford things like iPods right now, hiking up prices isn’t an option. I would be WILLING to pay as much as it would take, but probably only ABLE to pay 25% or so more.
    2)While it sounds all good and well to stop buying these products, for some of them it wouldn’t even make much of a difference. For example, most people already own an iPod. Saying that you won’t buy any more for a while doesn’t make a difference, because chances are, you wouldn’t anyways. Having more than one iPod doesn’t even make much sense, so not buying another one doesn’t really hurt sales. I wouldn’t encourage other people to not buy the product either because that would just be hypocritical. The final three options; writing letters to the companies and congress to end the unethical treatment of workers, informing others of the issues facing these workers, and encouraging others to help with bringing jobs to America, make the most sense, though they take the most effort. If more of the public is aware of the unethical treatment and is making it known that they disapprove, the companies will look bad if they don’t do anything.