Trying to Live on 25 Cents an Hour.
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Monthly Expenses in Shenzhen: |
The cost of living in China is, of course, just
a fraction of what it is in the U.S., and U.S. companies like Wal-Mart
and Nike assure the American people that they pay fair and adequate wages
in China, which, they add, are very competitive given the low cost of living
there.
But Nike, Wal-Mart and the other U.S. companies
are wrong, and they are deliberately misleading the U.S. people.In
China, it costs $12.05 a month to provide milk for a six-month-old infant.So
how can anyone survive on just $65 a month in wages?The
cost for one child’s milk amounts to 19 percent of the month’s wages.
We gathered information on the cost of living for a lower middle class family in Shenzhen City in southern China—where many of the assembly factories exporting goods to the U.S. are located.
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Rent
for a 3-room Apartment:
(400-500
square feet)
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1100 rmb | $132.53 | |
| Utilities (water and electricity) | 400 rmb | $48.19 | |
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Phone service |
100 rmb | $12.05 | |
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Food for 3 people |
600 rmb | $72.29 | |
Monthly Cost of raising a 6-month old child |
500-700 rmb | $ 60.21 - 84.34 | |
| Cooking oil | 50 rmb | $6.02 | |
| Fuel for cooking | 60 rmb | $7.23 | |
| Subtotal: | $350.59/month | ||
| (Note: Many people choose to eat out, since it is cheaper than preparing food at home.For example, to prepare lunch at home for three people can cost 25 to 35 rmb--$3.01 to $4.22, or about $1.20 each.A quick, cheap lunch of noodles can be purchased from a vendor for 5 to 10 rmb, as little as 60 cents.) | |||
In China, it costs $12.05 a month to provide milk for a six-month-old infant. So how can anyone survive on just $65 a month in wages? |
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If you add up even just these common expenses, it already amounts to $350.59, which is more than five times the wage of a typical factory worker who is producing goods for the U.S. companies. ·What about bus fare, which costs 3 rmb, or 36 cents for a typical half-hour trip?Round trip bus fare five days a week would cost 120 rmb, or $14.46 U.S. ·A visit to the doctor costs between 60 and 80 rmb, or $7.23 to $9.64 ·Men’s new shoes cost 200 rmb, $24.10 U.S. ·The simplest man’s t-shirt costs 20 to 30 rmb, or $2.41 to $3.61. ·A cheap, plain two-piece woman’s outfit costs 100 to 150 rmb, or $12.05 to $18.07 U.S. ·Going out for a traditional dim sum holiday meal at a Chinese restaurant would cost 30 to 40 rmb per person, or $3.61 to $4.82. |
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Food is cheap at the local market
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Workers locked in
factories in China producing goods for the largest and most profitable
U.S. multinational companies are barely able to eke out an existence, living
hand to mouth and surviving only because they are crowded into tiny dorm
rooms with 12 other people and eating three dismal company meals a day.Dorm
accommodations and food expenses are deducted from a worker’s gross wage.To
share a bunk bed in a crowded dorm room costs about 305 rmb per month,
or $36.75 U.S.Meal coupons cost
3 to 9 rmb per day, or between 36 cents and $1.08.For
the month, this would average $22.00 U.S. |