Slate's Matthew Yglesias on conditions that led to Bangladesh factory collapse: "That's OK!"

[drokhole]

If you can stomach the read:

Different Places Have Different Safety Rules and That's OK

Here's a quote from a factory worker from an article in The Age, referring to before the collapse when cracks were appearing in the building:

"None of us wanted to go in. The bosses came after us with beating sticks. In the end we were forced to go in."

And the picture accompanying the article:



Hey, that's OK!



(it's worth noting that said bosses are now in hiding)

[Johonny]

1. it's good that different people are able to make different choices on the risk–reward spectrum

which translates to: You guys take all the risks and we'll reap all the rewards.

Its one rich person risking the life of one poor person and yes it is so obviously wrong. This guy is slime.

[LiberalAndProud]

2. It's clear the guy didn't know what he was talking about.

* This post originally misstated the deaths as arising from a fire rather than a building collapse.

And I think we can come to some international agreement on minimal standards. Impoverished people should not be required to risk their lives in order to earn their daily bread and to hell with "risk averse" us.

[BrotherIvan]

3. Translated to: I NEED my stuff!

And I don't care if you die!

Fuck this guy.

[freshwest]

10. +1. Clearly from a guy who never worked hard a day in his life. He can fuck off.

[drokhole]

5. Sorry! Tried doing a search and didn't come up with it...

Wish I would've seen it earlier. I don't think this one will garner much of a response either.

But, yeah, the guy is total slime.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. No mr Yglesias, we do need universal standards

Universal minimum wage, and universal unions...

[Enrique]

7. are we sure that's Matt Yglesias?

are we sure it isn't Mitt Romney?

[Blue_Tires]

8. Maybe Yglesias should spend a month working in one of those sweatshops and report on it

I'm betting his tune would change pretty quickly...

[Enrique]

11. he should go and read his column to the Bangladeshi protesters

see how that works out for him.

[MotherPetrie]

9. Unfuckingbelievable

[ljm2002]

12. Well he does have a point...

...after all, if Bangladesh and other places with super-cheap labor were to start implementing workplace safety laws and decent building codes, our lords and masters... er, the heroic captains of industry would not be able to reap obscene profits... er, would not be able to supply the wondrous cornucopia of cheap goods that they currently provide for us all. And they would lose the ability to play one region off another competing for jobs. Now what good would that do, I ask you?

No, much better that we all accept the plight of the Bangladesh workers who are beaten with sticks and forced to enter unsafe buildings all so they can earn a day's pay or die trying.

Meanwhile, back home, we don't even have jobs, so are they really worse off than we are? And where would we be without all that cheap shit? Those are the questions the 1% want us to ask ourselves.