trades

they say art imitates life. i wonder if i would notice things so much if i was reading 100 Years of Solitude like I should be. Instead i've been reading the Grapes of Wrath, and it's astonishing how much and how little has changed in 80 years. like this article from the Toronto Star about our dismal minimum wage. Apparently, some places in the US have a move on to establish minimum wage as a reflection of a living wage. It makes sense, like it makes sense to buy fair trade goods.

Why are this middle classes so unwilling to cut back a little bit on our luxuries (i.e. pay a little more and get a little less) so that everyone involved in the production of something can have a living wage out of it? We complain about the price of things because it might be higher than we are accustomed to. But how many of us really know the cost of actual production? Where does the money we pay even go?

And the foods we eat come from farms that are subsidized by the government in order to keep food affordable. How much should a tomato cost? How much would it cost to produce without the subsidies? Why are we unwilling to pay more for a local tomato?

Here, very locally, artists come to my door selling carvings, wall-hangings, mittens, hats, jewelry and tools, and they quote their price. Sometimes I hear other outsiders dismiss the seller rudely, telling them their work "isn't worth" what they are asking for it. Sometimes a buyer waits until the seller is desperate and has cut the price far below what it cost him. I just don't think it is right.