Think before you bite into that piece of chocolate

[Victoria33]

Now, fishing enterprises are coming under scrutiny for slave labor. Most of us probably don’t eat much sea food; and the oceans are huge places but it’s still something to think about. I apologize if this is off-topic, it seems to be a similar situation.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/slave-labour-victim-urges-canada-to-do-more-to-combat-worker-exploitation-in-global-fishing-industry-1.5260480

 

[graciew]

I think at most these ‘fair trade’ products are niche boutique luxury goods. Their existence serves to make a point but they don’t fundamentally change how the local economy operates.

That is what I found out after the ladies here gave me the tip it was called “ fair trade” there.
It is almost non existent in the market but not so much boutique either.
The laws prohibiting child labour are there, and it takes a will .
Impossible no. Not everywhere. And we can still demand and denounce child labour,as necessary around us at minimum locally.
And certify our production in turn as child labour free or fair trade if you wish.Because it is, but not always said.
Be an agent of change.
Left me thinking. Brainstorming…

 

[graciew]

S

I fail to see the problem here.

This may help.

https://www.un.org/en/events/childlabourday/background.shtml

There is not only child labour, but within it, the worst forms of it and hazardous child labour included.
It goes by national and international conventions and standards .
The links to those documents can be found in this web page.

 

[Divine3]

The "Chocolate Slaves" of the Ivory Coast - End Slavery Now

This sadly is something I never knew about. Just recently I spoke with a priest from Nigeria and he spoke of the cruelty of how the poor are treated in harvesting chocolate.
I have a lot to learn ,pray about and ask the Holy Spirit what can I do?

 

[Larry1700]

Looking back, I wish I would have had a childhood like yours. Although I did mow lawns when I was 10 to 15 years old to make some spending money, my childhood was more “fun” (riding my bike, playing basketball, football, electric football, etc.).

There are so many things I wish I would have learned so that I would know how to do those things in my adult life. I have a cousin who did things like you, and he is much more successful (dollar-wise) due to his ability to fix up houses, weld, etc.

 

[HopkinsReb]

The luxury of having children go to school instead of work is something not all societies have. People need to remember the standard of living we in the West have grown accustomed to is an aberration, not the norm.

This is a case where people misunderstand the cause of a change.

We didn’t get rid of child labor because we became enlightened. We got rid of child labor because we became rich.

 

[HopkinsReb]

Yep, once we no longer needed the additional labor we were able to let kids quit working.

And that has led to getting even richer and more technologically advanced, as it means that kids can now dedicate the time they would have spent working to education.

But to be able to reap the benefits of that arrangement, you have to have a society that can not only afford not to have child labor but can also afford to pay for an education system without it.

That’s a very new concept.

 

[Sarcelle]

The Swiss will agree with you.

Right now Switzerland is one the wealthiest nations on earth but the Swiss I know tell me that the wealth isn’t going to last long and it will all end in years.

Circumstances can and will change.

 

[HopkinsReb]

The Swiss will agree with you.

Right now Switzerland is one the wealthiest nations on earth but the Swiss I know tell me that the wealth isn’t going to last long and it will all end in years.

Circumstances can and will change.

I’m not sure I buy this idea. Not that circumstances will change; obviously, they will. But the idea that we’re going to sink back into poverty. I think our level of technological advancement will prevent that. I’m much more concerned about entitlement programs transferring massive amounts of wealth from the young to the old and making my future children have a really hard time getting a start in life, but I don’t think we’re necessarily on a path back to poverty.

 

[Sarcelle]

I sincerely hope you are right.

However I am talking about the mentality of the Swiss. According to the Swiss I know there is the mentality that the prosperity that Switzerland currently enjoys will not last long.

As for transferring the wealth from the young to the old, isn’t it already happening?
As a Gen Xer I feel bad for millennials who have to start their adulthood already saddled with debt as big as a mortgage.

 

[HopkinsReb]

As for transferring the wealth from the young to the old, isn’t it already happening.

Oh, definitely already happening. But it’s getting worse and worse and they haven’t taken the crippling steps they’re going to have to take to keep the programs going.

 

[Sarcelle]

I’m afraid I can never afford to retire.

 

[HopkinsReb]

I’m afraid I can never afford to retire.

I have that fear as well. We’re really doubling down on our long-term savings in the knowledge that even if we ever do get Social Security, the steps that will have been taken to keep it going will more than offset whatever benefits we’d get from it.

 

[pulchraesamicamea]

Sorry for the late reply! @Sarcelle already provided an answer to this.

 

[Minks]

@repentant2

HopkinsReb:

I think our level of technological advancement will prevent that.

We’re one natural disaster/terrorist attack that cripples our power grid away from global catastrophe.

If the US power grid was knocked out the entire established order of the world would collapse over night.

That is the biggest weak link in modern society, a very heavy reliance on electricity with a very centralized ability to produce it.

Shockingly, we do very little to forestall a massive grid and standard utilies failure.

 

[adgloriam]

because as the papers read, when advertising Jobs No Catholics need apply,

That’s brutal!! First time I’ve heard of it. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Minks]

@adgloriam

In the 1800s, up past WWI, and into the Great Depression, not only did newspaper ads frequently say “NINA,” but stores and shops had such signs in their windows. NINA = No Irish Need Apply

@adgloriam

Edited to add:
I don’t know diddle about how to link an article, but a good explanatory article appears if you Google: Why Historians Are Fighting About “No Irish Need Apply” Signs, and Why It Matters

 

[Pitcairn17]

Minks:

Shockingly, we do very little to forestall a massive grid and standard utilies failure.

It’s not politically expedient.

That’s correct. Far better that our politicians are focused on the menace of, say, plastic straws.

 

[Theo520]

But the idea that we’re going to sink back into poverty. I think our level of technological advancement will prevent that.

Poverty is a comparative economic measure, not an actual state of being. Our poor today (in developed world) do not struggle for shelter and sustenance as the poor in the great depression.

A big recession could easily push many below the poverty line.

 

[adgloriam]

@adgloriam

In the 1800s, up past WWI, and into the Great Depression, not only did newspaper ads frequently say “NINA,” but stores and shops had such signs in their windows. NINA = No Irish Need Apply

@adgloriam

Edited to add:
I don’t know diddle about how to link an article, but a good explanatory article appears if you Google: Why Historians Are Fighting About “No Irish Need Apply” Signs, and Why It Matters

Thanks good reference and context, I’ll look up on it.