The Blame Game
Humans love to attribute blame to another party, so that they can justify their actions and feel good about themselves.
A few years ago, people were up in arms,when many US and European companies started to outsource non-essential employees. Let's face it, companies are in the business of making money, and are not charities. With shareholders expecting a certain return for their investments, and the consumer expecting lower prices, something has got to give. The opportunity was seen in outsourcing to reduce operational costs, giving both shareholders and consumers what they want.
What we have to realize is that at some point in our lives, we are likely to be investor, consumer and employee all at the same time. So while we would like to see a 10% return on every dollar we invest, we should realize that it should come from somewhere. Either the consumer suffers from higher prices, or employee benefits go out the window. You just cannot have the cake and eat it.
When Nike and the likes were found to be outsourcing manufacturing to some sweatshops in Asia, there was another outcry. What do we expect? We want our sports shoes for $50 or less, or may be less than $100, and expect to buy the latest designs from a sportswear company that has to spend large sums of money on advertising and sponsorship to keep their position in the game. Where is that money going to come from? Unless we are ready to settle for less-than-cutting-edge shoes from an independent company, these pressures are unlikely to go away. Especially in style-conscious Singapore that does not have its own sportswear industry.
There are lots of companies to target, Walmart, Apple, to name a few. All are just part of this game we play, trying to extract as much out of the system as we can. It ends up being a game of dog-eats-dog, where the fittest and most able survive. That's why the rich are getting richer, and CEOs are getting more in proportion to the average worker.
I joke that the capitalist system is just the feudal system in another guise, so that the people are conned into thinking that they have equal opportunity. This is actually a charade, since the less powerful just get trampled upon. Power still reside in elite circles, where they remain connected through familial relations. The likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are rarities, partly because the investment bankers were late into the game with milking the computer industry for what they are worth.
Do not be too shocked next time you go to a shop and realized that something has gone up in price. We are really pawns in this game, and as we open ourselves up to the world, even the big fish are small fish in the ocean.
A few years ago, people were up in arms,when many US and European companies started to outsource non-essential employees. Let's face it, companies are in the business of making money, and are not charities. With shareholders expecting a certain return for their investments, and the consumer expecting lower prices, something has got to give. The opportunity was seen in outsourcing to reduce operational costs, giving both shareholders and consumers what they want.
What we have to realize is that at some point in our lives, we are likely to be investor, consumer and employee all at the same time. So while we would like to see a 10% return on every dollar we invest, we should realize that it should come from somewhere. Either the consumer suffers from higher prices, or employee benefits go out the window. You just cannot have the cake and eat it.
When Nike and the likes were found to be outsourcing manufacturing to some sweatshops in Asia, there was another outcry. What do we expect? We want our sports shoes for $50 or less, or may be less than $100, and expect to buy the latest designs from a sportswear company that has to spend large sums of money on advertising and sponsorship to keep their position in the game. Where is that money going to come from? Unless we are ready to settle for less-than-cutting-edge shoes from an independent company, these pressures are unlikely to go away. Especially in style-conscious Singapore that does not have its own sportswear industry.
There are lots of companies to target, Walmart, Apple, to name a few. All are just part of this game we play, trying to extract as much out of the system as we can. It ends up being a game of dog-eats-dog, where the fittest and most able survive. That's why the rich are getting richer, and CEOs are getting more in proportion to the average worker.
I joke that the capitalist system is just the feudal system in another guise, so that the people are conned into thinking that they have equal opportunity. This is actually a charade, since the less powerful just get trampled upon. Power still reside in elite circles, where they remain connected through familial relations. The likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are rarities, partly because the investment bankers were late into the game with milking the computer industry for what they are worth.
Do not be too shocked next time you go to a shop and realized that something has gone up in price. We are really pawns in this game, and as we open ourselves up to the world, even the big fish are small fish in the ocean.