The worker and the consumer: jobs as the means to an end

10. January 2010 by admin.

A short while ago, I found myself in a conversation with an organic soap-maker at the Pike Place Market.  To be fair, his soap was very high-quality stuff, but I found one serious problem with it: the soap was exorbitantly priced.  Since I was dealing with the soap-maker himself and had the option of purchasing a slightly lower quality soap in bulk for a far more affordable price (less than $5 a bar, thank goodness), haggling seemed my best option.  So haggle I did.

What I found was that the soap-maker couldn’t sell me on the quality of the bar at that price, and he knew this–as he didn’t put up much of a fight.  But what he then said to me has puzzled me ever since: the reason I should buy the soap, he said, was because he paid his soap-makers $18 an hour, which is more than I currently make at the moment.  Not sold on the idea, I smiled, declined, and took off.  I’d later go on to buy about 17 more bars for about three bucks more. Read the rest of this entry »

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