Re: <nettime> The Art of Sweatshops

[andrew <andrew@adhocarts.org>]

We should make an analysis of the term "minimum wage," as it is not a 
living wage.  Minimize wage, lower labour costs and increase 
production- the traditional mantra of profit...

Since we are describing wage sufficiency for the domesticity of a 
European/US family vs. a family indigenous to another culture,  we may 
want to consider the necessary level of waste built into the system 
(consumerism) or dependency (supermarket shopping vs. growing you own 
food) under capitalist structures.    And should we then also attribute 
work not usually tied to capital in the support of this domesticity 
(care-giving, domestic maintenance, food production, etc. and other 
communal projects) that go uncalculated and may be culturally 
particular?

Family/domestic unit may also not be so narrowly defined cross 
culturally as well.

This is a problematic of power- The U.S. and Europe like the world's 
gated communities?


>>> Even Mexico, where the minimum wage is not enough to
>>> feed a family of four, is losing maquiladoras weekly to China.
>>>
>
>
> Is one persons wage sufficient to maintain a family in Europe and US?
> Just, curious.
>
> My own travel in the US and Europe amongst professionals, makes it 
> clear
> that two persons wages are critical to maintain a smallish domestic 
> unit.
> If you include, the taking care of out of productive years lifes, then 
> the
> wages are really absysmal.

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