The Australian government plans to offer more rebates to attract mothers back to work instead of staying home with their children.
The Sunday Telegraph described this as a Mother's Day gift. But is it really a "gift" when you think about it?
The intention is to get mothers back to work. This is because they want to drive the economy further. They want to reduce the budget deficit.
I respect these intentions. However, what about the children? Children need their mothers. To force mothers away from their children by using this economic tool can be detrimental to family health. Childcare helps, but they do not replace the mothers. The parents are supposed to the primary responsibility for the children. Bible verses as Proverbs 29:17 and 1 Timothy 5:8 assert the responsibility of parents towards their children.
Surely, taking both parents away from their children is not good in the light of this? Surely parents should not be so caught up chasing after the economic dollar that their children be neglected?
On the other hand, perhaps mothers have been taking too much leave allowance. Perhaps less leave allowance is okay, especially given the nation's budget deficit.
Where should we draw the line?
How should one balance between the need for money and the need for family time? How should one balance between loving and nurturing one's children vs. being away from them to fulfill work responsibilities?
What do you think?
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
12 May 2015
25 May 2014
Price of success
Did it ever occur to you what it costs to others for you to be able to buy things at the prices you do?
Many years ago, I heard that soccer balls and basket balls were made in India. This is because labour costs is cheap enough, and people living in the richer worlds can afford these balls, while they couldn't, if the Indians were paid according to the wage scale in the home countries of the buyers.
The same applied to clothing and manufacturing. Rarely is one able to buy t-shirts that are made in Australia these days, as the Bangladeshi, Chinese and Vietnamese ones have overtaken the market. Even the manufacturing of cars has become largely off-shored, or at least, it seems to be trending that way. But then again, there is an oversupply of new cars for the world market, so it kind of makes sense to lessen the production in some countries, in spite the costs to the jobs and economy.
More recently, I read about the electronics industry, where it is not just for financial economics that iPhones and mobile are made in China. There are also health issues. Apparently, there is a degree of pollution that comes out as a by-product of the electronics industry. The workers in these factories are exposed to carcinogens. The Chinese economy is set to overtake that of the USA next year, but even so, people are living in conditions where the level of pollution is 1000% higher than what the WHO deems to be safe.
Are we shocked? Should we be? Is this something to think about? Pray about? Or not care about since it is somebody else's problem somewhere else?
The article makes the situation of the factory works akin to those of slaves. Have they overstated the issue? We pray for and protest against slavery in many situations, do we also care about the situations of factory workers?
What can we do about it? Can we afford the higher price of clothing, electronics and other consumables if people were paid at a higher rate?
What do you think? How can we show care for the less privileged around the world?
Many years ago, I heard that soccer balls and basket balls were made in India. This is because labour costs is cheap enough, and people living in the richer worlds can afford these balls, while they couldn't, if the Indians were paid according to the wage scale in the home countries of the buyers.
The same applied to clothing and manufacturing. Rarely is one able to buy t-shirts that are made in Australia these days, as the Bangladeshi, Chinese and Vietnamese ones have overtaken the market. Even the manufacturing of cars has become largely off-shored, or at least, it seems to be trending that way. But then again, there is an oversupply of new cars for the world market, so it kind of makes sense to lessen the production in some countries, in spite the costs to the jobs and economy.
More recently, I read about the electronics industry, where it is not just for financial economics that iPhones and mobile are made in China. There are also health issues. Apparently, there is a degree of pollution that comes out as a by-product of the electronics industry. The workers in these factories are exposed to carcinogens. The Chinese economy is set to overtake that of the USA next year, but even so, people are living in conditions where the level of pollution is 1000% higher than what the WHO deems to be safe.
Are we shocked? Should we be? Is this something to think about? Pray about? Or not care about since it is somebody else's problem somewhere else?
The article makes the situation of the factory works akin to those of slaves. Have they overstated the issue? We pray for and protest against slavery in many situations, do we also care about the situations of factory workers?
What can we do about it? Can we afford the higher price of clothing, electronics and other consumables if people were paid at a higher rate?
What do you think? How can we show care for the less privileged around the world?
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