Making Stuff Cheap

McDonalds Global Strategy. How it became such Global entity.

"more recognizable than the cross internationally?"

What are your personal assumptions about “Made in China”?

My initial thought about “made in china” is “hecho en mexico” then think about coca-cola 

and how much better it is due to the fact that they don’t use high fructose syrup as a sweetener. I don’t think much about it, other than we outsource so much and we personally don’t need to. we have an overproduction of products internationally. Furthermore, why do we need so much? Why do we put so much value on material things. I’m being hypocritical, I love my computer, i love my phone, but we really don’t need to put so much value if someone else has the same thing three feet away. It’s all bullshit. I can live without my phone, i can live without my computer. I’d rather spend my days creating music, drawing and painting anyways. Made in China just further exploits the United States as empirical consumerist society. We all (majority)participate and we all are guilty.

What is globalization, and how does it impact product manufacture and sales?

Globalization is the empirical way in which consumerist societies outsource their

manufacturing needs dominating a workforce internationally. Low wage workers providing high wage products. It has great revenue, but why does it have to

harm, devalue, and impose on people’s traditions, cultures, and ultimately way of

life?

What are the working conditions at foreign factories producing goods for the U.S. market?

from what we have read these foreign factories producing goods have horrible working conditions. places often have polluted water systems. horrible wages for living. and the societies that people are from are often corrupt. 

Why do factory workers in foreign factories work under the current conditions?

Pure opinion, but i believe they work there due to the fact that they need a way to support themselves, adapt to what society believes they should be doing and living a life of corrupt meritocracy where seldom do they move up. Pretty much being a workforce of slave labor. Not to mention children are taken and exploited for work. because they are children they can’t make the same amount of money as an adult.

What role, if any, does gender play in the U.S.-overseas production chain?

Does gender have a role in making profit? does gender have a role in neo-slavery?

How and why does a product become disposable?

a product becomes disposable because there is always something new, shiny, and “better” being produced. Electronics have a way of not being adaptable because it’s something to control the masses with. Products that are disposable are for people who are following the fads.

What are the economic and social impacts of globalization?

economic impacts show great revenue. social impacts include but aren’t limited to acculturation and assimilation of one society to another.

Gentrification in Silicon Valley

Gentrification is the shift in urban environments where an increase in wealth and property value weeds out crime, poverty, and the displacement of poorer people. Google bus and san francisco is involved through the use by residents commute.  Through gentrification, businesses try to raise the economy by creating work. Through work they are able to bring about a change that lower classes are often pushed away from. Because there is correlation between race and class, race becomes an undeniable factor. When people become displaced, awareness and activism becomes connected.

Google bus got involved by invading the bay area. Their bus does provide jobs for people, but they often do displace the people that live in areas where a bus stop was built.  According to Salon rent near the Google bus stops are rising. This is causing the gentrification. It’s pushing people out of their homes due to the rise in living costs. 

Furthermore, buses get away with breaking public street laws and codes. They are specifically targeting the latin community creating public discord and racial issues. They are making sure that the latin community has their fare tickets and when they aren’t officials are brought into the mix resulting in deportation of some. Legal or not they have families here in the United States.

Google doesn’t stop with buses, however. They are expanding their businesses to urban places where “there workers would rather work.” This creates even high living rates and pushes out the lower class of people. 

in my opinion if there wasn’t a problem, there wouldn’t be concern for peoples’ lifestyles. there wouldn’t be any awareness. i wouldn’t have to hear about it. it’s definitely good news for people who love bad news. 

what bothers me the most about the Google bus fiasco is that they are able to escape legal misconduct due to having the power. They have the power of corporate wealth and further concludes that wealth influences government. Corporate entities should have no power in government the same way religion should have no power in court.

All in all, I feel that gentrification is inevitable. People place too high of a value of their gadgets and tools to want nothing to do with them. The next great big thing might be made here or there, but it doesn’t have to force people out of their homes. It’s frustrating to me to think about the luxuries I have now compared to someone who has less. It’s something I can share, but not something I can yet change.

How the Internet Enables Intimacy

Stefana Broadbent exclaims that the internet has created a bridge between humans and increasing the amount of intimacy an individual shares between his or her’s personal sphere of contacts. The internet as a tool has created a vast web of communication between people near and far. However, we aren’t as connected to someone who is not already in our personal sphere of family and friends. We are more connected now to the people who mean most to us. People disengage from public to engage in communication with their loved ones.

I cannot argue that internet has connected people. But should this freedom be limited? I think so. How often are we distracted by the devices we use? quite a bit. I find it a problem both at work and at school. Even in social outings and gatherings. Why be distracted? There is a time and place for everything, i can’t make the choice for you whether or not you use your device to disengage; i just find it rude. I have often get after coworkers for hiding in the back to use their phone during work to text, make private phone calls, or play games. It would be easier for them to ask permission first and get set aside for them to do their business, just not on company time. 

The costs of intimacy often create it’s own barriers. Most often do I try to hang out with friends and family, but it’s not exciting as things used to be. People isolate themselves into their own world of Candy Crush or texting people they seem to be more engaged with. I have tried to make it a point of making my phone silent throughout the day and getting to contacting people back when I find most convenient. However, I sometimes find myself distracted during class and send messages here and there so I’m a hypocrite. It’s a privilege and convenience that we all don’t consider to put the people who made these devices into the picture. Nor do we care or are aware of the situations that brought our device to us.

In the article, Deadly Behind Cellphones and Consumer Goods, it’s brought to our attention that many people suffer to make a living. They are engaged in long shifts working and sleeping to make money to support themselves or people they care about. The harsh conditions of working long hours often drive some to suicide and others to isolation. In addition, most don’t speak the same language and it’s frowned upon so people are even more disconnected from forming and forging relationships with their comrades of work. 

It may be my realization that nothing is going to put an end to this because people enjoy their devices too much. People tend to brush the harsh reality of such events and conditions under the rug. It’s something that doesn’t seem to cross many people’s minds because that’s the mystery of the product. We don’t want to accept blood and suffering when buying products.