#minimum 75 MILLION death toll

[slicksquid]

I hate being on twitter for competitive splatoon because this shitass social media keeps showing me the most braindead takes such as “public health measures during the Black Death were better than the Covid-19 pandemic”

[mariacallous]

The mercenary group Wagner, led by the late Yevgeny Prigozhin, recruited at least 48,366 convicts from Russian prisons to fight in the invasion of Ukraine, according to a joint investigation by journalists at Mediazona and BBC Russia, who obtained and analyzed internal records from the private military company documenting payments to the families of fighters killed in battle. Wagner’s recruiters asked inmates to serve at the front for six months in exchange for a pardon and the expungement of their criminal records, along with good pay and insurance payouts to their relatives in case they died or were injured. Meduza summarizes the new report’s findings about Wagner Group’s high death toll and the mixed honesty of the late Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Those who signed contracts with Wagner received special dog tags with identification numbers formatted to “KXXX-XXX,” where the first number indicated the recruit’s prison and the second number was linked to the individual recruit. The first of these contracts was signed on July 1, 2022, at a prison outside St. Petersburg. Wagner Group issued “K1-001” to a convict with the call sign “GDR” (East Germany). He later died, and his real name is unknown. The last known case of these Wagner recruitments was on February 7, 2023, at a prison outside Kemerovo. Mediazona and BBC Russia identified 341 of the 501 prisons indicated on these dog tags. These facilities include 227 high-security prisons, 75 general-regime prisons, and 28 special-regime prisons. Wagner also recruited in minimum-security camps and medical correctional institutions.

Wagner’s internal records show dog tags for 48,366 men, which is roughly in line with Yevgeny Prigozhin’s public claim that his private military company recruited around 50,000 prisoners.

Most Wagner fighters died in Russia’s capture of Bakhmut, which the mercenary group referred to privately as “Operation Meatgrinder.” Prigozhin said the battle began on October 8, 2022, and ended on May 20, 2023, but the death records obtained by Mediazona and BBC Russia show that it actually took longer to seize the city, with mercenaries dying in the area as early as July 15, 2022, and as late as June 6, 2023.

Based on this information, the battle for Bakhmut lasted 327 days and claimed the lives of at least 19,547 Wagner fighters, of whom 17,175 were convicts, and the remaining 2,372 were volunteer mercenaries. (If the battle’s timeline is restricted to what Prigozhin claimed, Wagner’s death toll in Bakhmut falls slightly to 18,329 men.) In total, one in three of the prisoners who enlisted with Wagner Group (35.5 percent, according to internal reporting) never returned from the “Bakhmut meatgrinder.” 

Journalists calculate that Wagner Group spent nearly 108 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) on payments to the relatives of its men killed in the fight for Bakhmut. Each family received five million rubles ($61,000) in compensation, plus another 300,000 rubles ($3,700) for funeral arrangements. The relatives of recruited convicts collectively received 92.5 billion rubles ($1.14 billion), while the families of regular mercenaries got 15.4 billion rubles ($189 million).

The investigation from Mediazona and BBC Russia indicates that Prigozhin told the truth when he said Wagner Group lost about 20,000 men in the battle for Bakhmut, but he lied about the death rates between recruited convicts and volunteer mercenaries. (In a May 2023 interview with the z-blogger Konstantin Dolgov, Prigozhin falsely claimed that the death rates among both groups were roughly 20 percent.) 

Prigozhin argued that the purpose of the “Bakhmut meatgrinder” was to exhaust the enemy by killing as many Ukrainian soldiers as possible. He said 50,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces died defending the city, and another 50,000–70,000 were wounded. However, the Ukrainian project UALosses, which tracks the Ukrainian military’s losses through publicly available obituaries, has confirmed the deaths of only 8,900 Ukrainian soldiers in the battle for Bakhmut.

Meduza recently published a book by journalists Ilya Barabanov and Ilya Korotkov about Wagner Group and Yevgeny Prigozhin. You can order the book here or download Meduza’s mobile app, where the text will appear soon and entirely free of charge. (Please note: the book is in Russian.)

[warningsine]

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on Friday to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

The world body approved the Arab and Palestinian-sponsored resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions. The United States voted against it, along with Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea.

The vote reflected the wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, with many countries expressing outrage at the escalating death toll in Gaza and fears of a major Israeli offensive in Rafah, a southern city where about 1.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

It also demonstrated growing support for the Palestinians. A General Assembly resolution on Oct. 27 calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza was approved 120-14 with 45 abstentions. That was just weeks after Israel launched its military offensive in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people.

While Friday’s resolution gives Palestine some new rights and privileges, it reaffirms that it remains a non-member observer state without full U.N. membership and the right to vote in the General Assembly or at any of its conferences. And the United States has made clear that it will block Palestinian membership and statehood until direct negotiations with Israel resolve key issues, including security, boundaries and the future of Jerusalem, and lead to a two-state solution.

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said Friday that for the U.S. to support Palestinian statehood, direct negotiations must guarantee Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state and that Palestinians can live in peace in a state of their own.

The U.S. also vetoed a widely backed council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine.

Under the U.N. Charter, prospective members of the United Nations must be “peace-loving” and the Security Council must recommend their admission to the General Assembly for final approval. Palestine became a U.N. non-member observer state in 2012.

The United States considers Friday’s resolution an attempt to get around the Charter’s provisions, Wood reiterated Thursday.

Unlike resolutions in the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the 193-member General Assembly. Friday’s resolution required a two-thirds majority of members voting and got significantly more than the 118 vote minimum.

U.S. allies supported the resolution, including France, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Australia, Estonia and Norway. But European countries were very divided.

The resolution “determines” that a state of Palestine is qualified for membership — dropping the original language that in the General Assembly’s judgment it is “a peace-loving state.” It therefore recommends that the Security Council reconsider its request “favorably.”

The renewed push for full Palestinian membership in the U.N. comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage. At numerous council and assembly meetings, the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians in Gaza and the killing of more than 34,000 people in the territory, according to Gaza health officials, have generated outrage from many countries.

Before the vote, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the assembly in an emotional speech that “No words can capture what such loss and trauma signifies for Palestinians, their families, communities and for our nation as a whole.”

He said Palestinians in Gaza “have been pushed to the very edge of the strip, to the very brink of life” with Israel besieging Rafah.

Mansour accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of preparing “to kill thousands to ensure his political survival” and aiming to destroy the Palestinian people.

He welcomed the resolution’s strong support and told AP that 144 countries have now recognized the state of Palestine, including four countries since Oct. 7, all from the Caribbean.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan vehemently opposed the resolution, accusing U.N. member nations of not mentioning Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and seeking “to reward modern-day Nazis with rights and privileges.”

He said if an election were held today, Hamas would win, and warned U.N. members that they were “about to grant privileges and rights to the future terror state of Hamas.” He held up a photo of Yehya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Hamas attack on Israel, saying a terrorist “whose stated goal is Jewish genocide” would be a future Palestinian leader.

Erdan also accused the assembly of trampling on the U.N. Charter, putting two pages that said “U.N. Charter” in a small shredder he held up. .

The original draft of the resolution was changed significantly to address concerns not only by the U.S. but also by Russia and China, three Western diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations were private.

The first draft would have conferred on Palestine “the rights and privileges necessary to ensure its full and effective participation” in the assembly’s sessions and U.N. conferences “on equal footing with member states.” It also made no reference to whether Palestine could vote in the General Assembly.

According to the diplomats, Russia and China, which are strong supporters of Palestine’s U.N. membership, were concerned that granting the rights and privileges listed in an annex could set a precedent for other would-be U.N. members — with Russia concerned about Kosovo and China about Taiwan.

Under longstanding legislation by the U.S. Congress, the United States is required to cut off funding to U.N. agencies that give full membership to a Palestinian state, which could mean a cutoff in dues and voluntary contributions to the U.N. from its largest contributor.

The final draft that was voted on dropped the language that would put Palestine “on equal footing with member states.” And to address Chinese and Russian concerns, it decided “on an exceptional basis and without setting a precedent” to adopt the rights and privileges in the annex.

It also added a provision in the annex clarifying that it does not give Palestine the right to vote in the General Assembly or put forward candidates for U.N. agencies.

What the resolution does give Palestine are the rights to speak on all issues not just those related to the Palestinians and Middle East, to propose agenda items and reply in debates, and to serve on the assembly’s main committees. It also allows Palestinians to participate in U.N. and international conferences convened by the United Nations, but without the right to vote.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. It failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.

They went to the General Assembly and succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.

In the Security Council vote on April 18, the Palestinians got much more support for full U.N. membership. The vote was 12 in favor, the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining, and the United States voting no and vetoing the resolution.

[grad502davidneville]

True Cost Notes

lBiggest producers of fast fashion 

H and m 

Zara 

Forever 21 

Gap

Export work to have happen in whatever way we want and then the products come back to me cheap enough to throw away without thinking about it - tonight show star 

Globilised production basically means that all the making of goods has been outsourced to low cost enconomie partially where wages are very low and kept low -

931 dead because they were trying to skip corners and keep on manufacturing so ignored an evacuation 

Runa plaza disater

The workers already knew and pointed out that there were cracks in the building and was structurly unsafe and advised to management but workers forced them back in 

$2 a day 

Bangladesh prices 

More than 1000 

litterally in same week, another factory caught fire and killed 8 people 

3 out of the 4 worst fashion related tradgedies had happend in the last year 

2015 

as the death toll rose, so did the profits generated 

3 trillion dollar industry 

low wages, unsafe conditions and factory disasters are all excused because of the needed jobs they create for people with no alternatives 

current conclsuion- the elimantation of fast fashion eleimates a huge amount of jobs that are needed for these people 

recyceling clotehs will elimae jobs 

making the same amount of good clothes with better working conditions, wages and better for environment means same amount of jobs but ultimately wouldnt work as demand would be less as clothes are more expensive 

Our planet, or are people? 

40million factory workers in tyhe world, almost 4 million in banglasdesh 

now its 75 million 

over 85% woman, minimum wage of only $3 a day 

terribly hot ]

chemicals inside factory

1 in every 6 people today work in some part of the global fashion industry, making it the most labour dependant industry on earth 

2015 

80 billion pieces of clothing each year 

400% more than the amount we bought 2 decades ago 

fashion can never and should never be thought of as a disposable product- woman 

average american throws away 82 pounds of textile waste each year 

adding up to 11 million tonnes of textile waste by the us alone 

most of being not  biodegradable so sits landfull to 200 years or more while releasing harmul gases into the air

She has to leave

the incredibly low wages that attract fast factory industires have left millions working incrediby long hours unable to afford to keep their children with them, in order to give their children a better future then life in factoriers, leave thier children to friedna and family only getting to see them once or twice a year 

I belive these clotehs are produced by our blood, people have no idea what hard work goes behind it, they only wear it 

I dont want anyone wearing anything produced by our blood 

capatilism must expand infinetelty in order to survive, capital 

the real world does have limits 

stop treating people like things 

stop treating people in ways that were just about profit 

imagery idea- person with clothes that are dripping in bloof, list of all the recent accidents 

statisfied with a system that makes us feel rich while making the rest of the world so desperatly poor 

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Both sides play the blame game as virus relief talks stall (AP) With talks on emergency coronavirus aid having stalled out, both sides played the blame game Thursday rather than make any serious moves to try to break their stalemate. Official Washington is emptying, national politics is consuming the airwaves and the chasm between the warring sides appears too great for now. All of the chief combatants have exited Washington after a several-day display of staying put as to not get blamed for abandoning the talks. The political risk for President Donald Trump is continued pain in U.S. households and a struggling economy—both of which promise to hurt him in the September campaign. For Democrats, there is genuine disappointment at being unable to deliver a deal but apparent comfort in holding firm for a sweeping measure instead of the few pieces that Trump wants most. With the House and Senate essentially closed, and lawmakers on call to return with 24 hours’ notice, hopes for a swift compromise have dwindled. All indications are talks will not resume in full until Congress resumes in September, despite the mounting coronavirus death toll.

Rural families without internet face tough choice on school (AP) John Ross worries about his children returning to their classrooms this fall with coronavirus cases rising in Kentucky, but he feels he doesn’t have much of a choice: His family’s limited internet access makes it nearly impossible for the kids to keep up with schoolwork from home. “They’re going to have their education,” the father of three in rural Lee County said as he recalled his children’s struggles to do their work this spring over a spotty cellphone connection. Lee County, a community of around 7,000 people deep in the Appalachian Mountains, is one of many rural school districts around the country where the decision over whether to bring students back into classrooms is particularly fraught. As in other places, parents and officials are concerned about the virus, but dramatically limited internet access here also means kids could fall seriously behind if the pandemic keeps them home again. Roughly 3 million students across the United States don’t have access to a home internet connection. A third of households with school-age children that do not have home internet cite the expense as the main reason, according to federal Education Department statistics. But in some rural places, a reliable connection can’t be had at any price.

UK orders quarantine for arrivals from France (AP) Britain will require all people arriving from France to isolate for 14 days—an announcement that throws the plans of tens of thousands of holidaymakers into chaos. France is one of the top holiday destinations for British travelers, who now have until 4 a.m. Saturday to get home if they want to avoid two weeks in isolation.

Surge in Covid-19 cases among younger people (The Guardian) Surges in Covid-19 cases in countries across Europe are due largely to a rise in infections among young people, data from national agencies shows, prompting fears among experts that the virus could soon spread back to more vulnerable groups. Unlike during the early months of the crisis in March and April, when older people accounted for the biggest share of cases, in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium 20 to 39-year-olds now represent up to 40% of new infections. In Germany—which on Thursday reported a three-month high of 1,445 infections in 24 hours, against about 6,000 at the height of the pandemic—the health minister, Jens Spahn, said the rise in the infection rate among young people had been “significant”. The average age of people being infected with the virus was now 34, the lowest since the start of the epidemic, Spahn said.

Belarus authorities free detainees amid protesters’ pressure (AP) Belarusian authorities have released about 1,000 people detained amid demonstrations contesting the results of the presidential election, in an attempt to assuage public anger against a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests. Around midnight, scores of detainees were seen walking out of one of Minsk’s jails. Ambulances arrived to carry those who apparently were unable to walk on their own. Many of those who were released talked about brutal beatings and other abuse at the hands of police, and some showed bruises. Some wept as they embraced their relatives. The move comes on the day that European Union foreign ministers are due to meet to discuss possible sanctions against Belarus. In five days of massive protests, crowds of demonstrators swarmed the streets to contest the vote results and demand an end to the 26-year rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Nearly 7,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured.

North Korea floods kill 22, approach nuclear reactor (Washington Post) Flooding caused by weeks of unusually heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 22 people in North Korea, with four others missing, and even approached the country’s main nuclear reactor, but leader Kim Jong Un says he is too worried about coronavirus to accept outside help. The International Federation of the Red Cross said the floods had left 26 people dead or missing. The official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said at least 16,680 houses and 630 public buildings had been destroyed or flooded during the monsoon, with nearly 100,000 acres of crops damaged, and many roads, bridges, railway tracks broken. A dam at a power station also gave way, it said. The disaster adds to an already troubling humanitarian situation in North Korea, whose weak economy has been further battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Made in China’ label ruling hits a raw nerve in Hong Kong (Washington Post) This city’s leaders have insisted repeatedly that Hong Kong is an “inalienable” part of China. They’ve banned school students from singing Hong Kong’s protest anthem. They’re implementing patriotic education to force youngsters to love the “motherland.” A new national security law sets heavy penalties for anyone advocating Hong Kong’s separation from the People’s Republic. So, after the United States determined that Hong Kong no longer had autonomy under its “one country, two systems” formula, U.S. Customs and Border Protection ruled Tuesday that imports from Hong Kong must be labeled “made in China.” Those three words sent Hong Kong officials into a collective tailspin. At a media briefing Thursday, a member of Hong Kong’s ruling cabinet delivered a message that, from the mouth of a pro-democracy activist or political opponent, could put them behind bars: The former British colony is not, in fact, China. Coming a month and a half after Beijing’s security law made calling for an independent Hong Kong punishable by life in prison, and just weeks after teenagers were arrested over social media posts advocating just that, the Hong Kong government’s sudden attempt to distance itself from China sparked ridicule online.

China’s show of force (Foreign Policy) The Chinese military announced on Thursday that it had conducted a series of military exercises around Taiwan in a provocative show of force as relations with the United States continue to sour. The exercises occurred at the tail-end of a visit to the island by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, the highest-level meeting between U.S. and Taiwanese officials since Washington severed formal diplomatic ties with Taipei in 1979. China threatened unspecified retaliatory action in response to the visit, and on Monday two Chinese jets briefly crossed into Taiwanese airspace just prior to the meeting between Azar and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

75 years later, Japan war orphans tell of pain, recovery (AP) For years, orphans in Japan were punished just for surviving the war. They were bullied. They were called trash and left to fend for themselves on the street. Police rounded them up and threw them in jail. They were sent to orphanages or sold for labor. They were abandoned by their government, abused and discriminated against. Now, 75 years after the end of the Pacific War, some have broken decades of silence to describe for a fast-forgetting world their sagas of recovery, survival, suffering—and their calls for justice. The stories told to The Associated Press ahead of Saturday’s anniversary of the war’s end underscore both the lingering pain of the now-grown children who lived through those tumultuous years and what activists describe as Japan’s broader failure to face up to its past. The orphans feel they were forgotten by history and by their leaders.

UN soundly defeats US demand to extend arms embargo on Iran (AP) The U.N. Security Council on Friday resoundingly defeated a U.S. resolution to indefinitely extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran, with the Trump administration getting support from only the Dominican Republic but vowing further action to prevent Tehran’s sale and export of conventional weapons. The vote in the 15-member council was two in favor, two against and 11 abstentions, leaving it far short of the minimum nine “yes” votes required for adoption. Russia and China strongly opposed the resolution, but didn’t need to use their vetoes. The Trump administration has said repeatedly it will not allow the arms embargo provision in the Security Council resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers to expire as scheduled Oct. 18. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested the U.S. would invoke the “snap back” mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal that would restore all U.N. sanctions on Iran — and U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft said the United States will go ahead “in the coming days” and keep America’s “promise to stop at nothing to extend the arms embargo.” President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers, known as the JCPOA, in 2018. But the U.S. circulated a six-page memo Thursday from State Department lawyers outlining why the United States remains part of the 2015 Security Council resolution that endorsed the deal and still has the right to use the `snap back’ provision. The five other powers — Russia, China, United Kingdom, France and Germany — remain committed to the deal, and diplomats from several of these countries have voiced concern that extending the arms embargo would lead Iran to exit the nuclear agreement and speed up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Lebanese have little hope blast probe will lead to truth (AP) Lebanon’s judicial investigation of the Beirut port explosion started with political wrangling over the naming of a lead investigator, military threats to jail leakers and doubts over whether a panel appointed along sectarian lines could be fully impartial. So for many Lebanese, their greatest hope for credible answers about the blast that wrecked much of their capital may lie with outsiders: the French forensic police who have joined the probe and FBI investigators are expected to take part. The Beirut explosion lies at the crossroads of a disastrous accident and a crime scene. It still was not known what sparked the fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that were stored for years in Beirut’s port next to densely populated residential areas. Documents have emerged that show the country’s top leadership and security officials were aware of the stockpile. Many Lebanese want the probe taken out of the hands of their own government, having learned from past experience that the long-entrenched political factions, notorious for corruption, won’t allow any results damaging to their leadership to come to light.

Iran, Turkey lash out at UAE over agreement with Israel (AP) Iran and Turkey lashed out at their regional rival the United Arab Emirates on Friday over its decision to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel in a U.S.-brokered deal, accusing it of betraying the Palestinian cause. The UAE, which has never fought Israel and has quietly been improving ties for years, said the agreement put a hold on Israel’s plans to unilaterally annex parts of the occupied West Bank, which the Palestinians view as the heartland of their future state. The agreement would make the UAE the first Gulf Arab state—and the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan—to have full diplomatic ties with Israel. The historic deal delivered a key foreign policy victory for U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election and reflected a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians. Israel, the UAE and other Gulf countries that view Iran as a regional menace have been cultivating closer ties in recent years.

[vsplusonline]

Seniors need more than one-time top-ups if coronavirus pandemic lingers: advocates

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/seniors-need-more-than-one-time-top-ups-if-coronavirus-pandemic-lingers-advocates/

Seniors need more than one-time top-ups if coronavirus pandemic lingers: advocates

Canadian seniors will need more financial help from the federal government to weather the COVID-19 pandemic if their increased living costs continue for months longer, advocates say.

Organizations representing seniors across the country say they’re grateful the government is supporting older adults with a one-time public pension top-up but worry it won’t be enough — especially if the timing of a promised increase to the Old Age Security (OAS) benefit might be in flux.

2:16 Federal Election 2019: Trudeau promises to boost old age security, CPP benefits if re-elected

Federal Election 2019: Trudeau promises to boost old age security, CPP benefits if re-elected

During the 2019 election campaign, the Liberals courted seniors’ and retirees’ votes by vowing to both boost the OAS program by 10 per cent for seniors once they turn 75 and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) survivor’s benefit by 25 per cent. These increases would take effect in July 2020, the Liberals said in the fall.

However, in a recent interview on The West Block, the federal minister responsible for seniors wouldn’t say one way or another if the government was on track to fulfill that pledge this summer.

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“We are committed to delivering on our promises but right now the pandemic is taking all efforts and energies and that’s where our focus is,” Deb Schulte told Global News last week.

READ MORE: Liberals won’t commit to boosting old age security in July despite campaign pledge

The OAS pension is a monthly payment made to eligible seniors who are 65 years old and older. Low-income recipients of the OAS can also get the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) — an additional monthly, non-taxable benefit. The maximum monthly payments for both benefits (for April to June 2020) is $613.53 and $916.38, respectively.

According to the government, there are 6.7 million Canadian seniors currently eligible for the OAS pension and 2.2 million for the GIS.

To help counteract the extra living expenses those seniors have faced due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the federal government provided a one-time, extra GST credit to a low- to modest- income seniors in April. Then on May 12, seniors receiving the OAS pension heard the feds would give them a one-time, tax-free top-up of $300, with an additional $200 going to GIS recipients.

“That was an important first step,” said Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge, a national non-profit association that advocates for seniors.

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“But Canadian seniors have been counting on the much overdue increase to OAS and perhaps never before has that increase been needed so much.”

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READ MORE: Coronavirus: Non-medical masks now recommended for Canadians, officials say

Seniors are facing “financial insecurity” right now as they change their routines to abide by public health restrictions and avoid getting infected by the virus, Tamblyn Watts said.

Some are spending on taxis to avoid public transit, on grocery delivery fees to avoid exposing themselves in stores and on new electronic equipment to stay connected with family and friends, advocates said. Depending on where they live, some seniors may be spending more money on prescription dispensing fees due to refill limits and or can’t access discount services that have paused operations.

2:12 Canadian seniors to get up to $500 one-time payment from feds

Canadian seniors to get up to $500 one-time payment from feds

Seniors may have to bear those extra costs for months longer, depending on the course of the pandemic, said Marissa Lennox, chief policy officer for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), a non-partisan, non-profit group that represents 320,000 members across the country.

The top-ups announced last week address seniors’ “immediate financial needs” but they won’t have the same “lasting impact” as the promised 10 per cent boost to OAS, Lennox argued, saying her organization gets emails and calls about the issue every day.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Trudeau promises one-time top-up for eligible seniors up to $500

If the government isn’t going to follow through with its scheduled OAS increase in July, the public pension top-ups should be “recurring” like the other federal COVID-19 relief programs for the unemployed and students, Lennox and Tamblyn Watts argued.

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“If it is this kind of one-time payment and nothing else, that’s going to be very difficult for older people,” Tamblyn Watts said.

“Seniors are really going to be in a financially precarious position by early summer if that’s the case.”

Advocates say they understand the government’s priority as the crisis unfolded was to address income loss for working Canadians. But Lennox noted that “many retirees live off far less than $2,000 a month” — the amount offered through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

“Many of our members are barely breaking $1,200 a month on OAS and CPP,” she said.

Lennox suggested “there will be hell to pay” in the event the OAS and CPP campaign pledges are abandoned, but noted she’s received no indication that they have been.

“When the Liberals did come out with that promise in the fall, it was in many ways, for a lot of our members, the reason they voted for the Liberals,” she said.

1:40 Advocating for LGBTQ2 seniors during COVID-19 pandemic

Advocating for LGBTQ2 seniors during COVID-19 pandemic

Simon Coakeley, CEO of the National Association of Federal Retirees, said his organization isn’t too concerned yet about the fate of the promised OAS increase but would support renewed assistance for seniors if the economic impact of the pandemic “is still very evident” into the fall.

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“If we’re looking at basically the same situation we are today in another three or four months’ time, then I think the government may very well be well-advised to consider repeating those [one-time payments] and maybe making some of those increases permanent,” Coakeley said.

Global News asked the minister of seniors’ office if it could provide a more specific response as to whether the OAS and CPP increases would be implemented in July or not. Global News also asked if the proposed benefit boosts were included in the federal budget the government would have tabled on March 30, and if the government would renew the OAS and GIS top-ups in the event of a delay.

READ MORE: Canada’s coronavirus death toll reaches 6,000

In a statement, the minister’s office reiterated the government “remains committed to implement the policies in our platform” but is “focused on managing the COVID-19 public health crisis” right now.

“Through OAS, GIS and GST credit one-time payments, we are providing financial support to seniors of all ages sooner and greater support for the most vulnerable,” read the statement sent by Scott Bardsley, Schulte’s communications director.

The Liberal government is investing “over twice as much on financial assistance for seniors as we committed to in our platform,” the statement also claimed.

“We continue to look at all the ideas that are coming in on how we could better help seniors. However, our immediate focus is on helping them with additional costs during the pandemic,” the statement read.

4:48 Balancing personal health with financial security during the pandemic

Balancing personal health with financial security during the pandemic

OAS and CPP benefits aside, Tamblyn Watts argued that eliminating mandatory withdrawals from Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIF) would give seniors additional relief during a tough year.

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RRIFs are one way people can transfer their retirement savings and pay out retirement income once they turn 71.

The government has reduced the minimum withdrawals from RRIFs by 25 per cent for 2020 — but both CARP and CanAge say that’s not enough to safeguard seniors’ retirement savings in this financial climate.

“What we need to see is that older adults are able to make ends meet at a time where the financial pressures have never been so dire,” Tamblyn Watts said.

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[businessliveme]

Trump Raises U.S. Death Toll Forecast to 100,000: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump raised the expected death toll in America from the virus to as many as 100,000. He promised a “conclusive” report from the U.S. government on the Chinese origins of the pandemic.

Trump accused China of trying to cover up the outbreak and said tariffs would be “the ultimate punishment.” Gilead Sciences Inc. plans to get its antiviral drug to patients as soon as this week.

In Asia, factory output in several countries slumped to record lows. Australia expects its population growth to halve next year as the virus spurs a collapse in migration. New Zealand reported no new cases for the first time since its March lockdown.

Key Developments

Virus Tracker: global cases pass 3.5 million; deaths top 247,000

January? Autumn? Doctors debate arrival time for a vaccine

China trade deal turns into potential liability for Trump

Mainland Chinese buyers shun Hong Kong property

Italian leader faces revolt against lockdown exit plan

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus.

Hong Kong to Ease Gathering Limit: Cable TV (10:58 a.m. HK)

Hong Kong plans to relax social-distancing measures to allow public gatherings of no more than eight people, broadcaster Cable TV reported, citing unidentified people.

The government may allow cinemas, beauty parlors and gyms to reopen this week, according to the report. Existing measures are set to expire on May 7. Hong Kong hasn’t found a local coronavirus case in 14 days.

New Zealand Records Zero New Cases (10:48 a.m. HK)

New Zealand recorded no new coronavirus cases, raising hopes it can further relax lockdown restrictions.

The Ministry of Health reported zero new infections for the first time since the lockdown began at midnight on March 25. The nation has 1,487 confirmed or probable cases, of which 86% are defined as recovered. There have been 20 deaths.

Asia’s Factories Plunge to Record Lows (9:23 a.m. HK)

Factory output across several Asian countries slumped to record lows in April, signaling a deeper contraction in the world’s manufacturing hub even as China begins restarting some operations.

Purchasing managers indexes across Southeast Asia slumped further below 50, the dividing line between contraction and expansion, to post their weakest readings since the series began, according to data released by IHS Markit on Monday. Taiwan, Japan and South Korea dropped to their lowest levels since 2009.

Trump Says China Made ‘Horrible Mistake’ (9:11 a.m. HK)

President Donald Trump said he has little doubt that China misled the world about the scale and risk of the coronavirus outbreak and then sought to cover it up as the disease became a global pandemic.

“I think they made a very horrible mistake,” Trump said during an interview Sunday night on Fox News. “They tried to cover it.” He alluded to additional information he said will be coming out soon to back up his claims, which China has rejected.

Pence Says ‘Should Have Worn Mask’ (9:03 a.m. HK)

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said at a Fox News town hall in Washington that “I didn’t think it was necessary, but I should have worn the mask at the Mayo Clinic.”

Pence disregarded policy requiring face masks as he discussed the outbreak with doctors at the Rochester, Minnesota-based hospital April 28.

Australian Meatworks Cases Echo U.S. (9:03 a.m. HK)

An Australian meatworks is at the center of an outbreak, in echoes of the cluster of cases that have occurred at U.S. beef plants.

A total of 19 cases detected Sunday originated at the meatworks, bringing the plant’s total to 34. While the daily growth of new infections in Australia has slowed to less than 1%, there are concerns new clusters could jeopardize the nation’s ability to quickly lift its lockdown.

China’s ‘Ultimate Punishment’ on (8:42 a.m. HK)

President Donald Trump, asked if he will use tariffs to punish China for the coronavirus pandemic, said they would be “the ultimate punishment.”

“Tariffs at a minimum are the greatest negotiating tool,” Trump said at the Fox News town hall. He also said a trade deal with China requires the country to purchase U.S. goods and if they don’t, the U.S. will terminate the agreement.

Trump Says More Help Is Coming (7:46 a.m. HK)

President Donald Trump promised more federal assistance is coming for Americans put out of work by the outbreak and vowed to press ahead with reopening the economy. He said he won’t agree to pass further stimulus measures without a payroll tax cut.

As he addressed the nation in a town hall event hosted by Fox News on Sunday, Trump revised upward the number of Americans he expects to die from the virus. “We’re going to lose anywhere between 75, 80 to 100,000,” he said. He had said at the beginning of April he hoped deaths would total less than 60,000. The number of U.S. dead so far is more than 67,000.

Egypt to Reopen Hotels and Resorts (7:23 a.m. HK)

The venues will open to support domestic tourism, Egypt’s cabinet said in a statement. Hotels will operate at 25% of total capacity until June 1, and 50% by July. The number of residents will be in accordance with guidelines from the World Health Organization, the cabinet said.

Australia Projects Dent in Population Growth (6:30 a.m. HK)

Australia’s population growth will likely halve next year as Covid-19 spurs a collapse in migration. Population Minister Alan Tudge said the decline would hurt the economy.

The Treasury estimates net overseas migration will fall 85% in 2020-2021. The population has been growing about 1.6% a year for the past decade, about 60% due to migration, Tudge said on ABC radio.

Serco in Talks on U.K. Contact Tracing: Times (6:15 a.m. HK)

Outsourcing services provider Serco Group is in advanced talks to conduct contact tracing for the U.K. government, The Times reports, without saying where it obtained the information. At least two companies are being asked to provide about 15,000 call-center staff to handle the bulk of the work, the Times said.

Trump Got Two Briefings in January (5:20 p.m. NY)

The U.S. intelligence community briefed President Donald Trump twice in the eight days before he blocked travel from China to stop the outbreak, a senior White House official said.

In the first briefing, on Jan. 23, Trump was told the virus was poised to spread from China, and getting infected would not be deadly for most people. Five days later, Trump received information showing the virus was spreading but all deaths remained in China, the official said. Trump was told China wasn’t sharing key data, the official said.

Trump has repeatedly pointed to his Jan. 31 decision to restrict travel from China to rebut critics who say he was too slow to react. Read the full story.

Peru Mining Set for Restart (4:15 p.m. NY)

Peru will lift restrictions on mining and other industries this month, the government said in a decree, as the world’s No. 2 copper producer begins to slowly lift lockdown measures.

Mining and metal work, along with tourism, are among industries and services that can restart this month under special safety measures, according to the decree. Measures to contain the pandemic led to an “effective” control of the outbreak, the government said.

U.S. Cases Rise 2.3%, Below One-Week Average (4 p.m. NY)

U.S. cases increased 2.3% from the same time Saturday, to 1.15 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The gain was below the average daily increase of 2.7% over the past week.

New York reported 3,438 new cases for a total of 316,415, with 280 new deaths — the fewest in more than a month — for a total of 18,890.

New Jersey reported 3,027 new cases, pushing the total to 126,744, while adding 129 deaths, raising the total to 7,871.

Massachusetts reported 1,824 new cases, raising the total to 68,087, and 148 additional deaths, for a total of 4,004.

Illinois had 2,994 new cases, raising the total to 61,499, with 63 additional deaths, bringing the toll to 2,618, Governor J.B. Pritzker said. The state did 19,417 tests, the most so far.

Pennsylvania reported 962 new cases, pushing the total to 49,267, with 26 new deaths, bringing the total to 2,444, the Department of Health said.

Michigan had 547 new cases, a decline from 851 reported a day earlier, raising its total to 43,754, while adding 29 deaths to bring the toll to 4,049, the health department said.

Florida reported 615 new cases, boosting the total to 36,078, with 15 new deaths, raising the toll to 1,379, the health department said.

Louisiana added 200 new cases, bringing its total to 29,340.

Ohio reported 579 new cases, or 14 fewer than reported on Saturday, pushing the total to 19,914. The state reported 1,038 deaths.

California Deaths Rise (3:45 p.m. NY)

California reported 44 new fatalities, a 2% increase from the previous day, with a total deaths of 2,215. The state had 1,419 new cases, a 2.7% rise, to 53,616. The number of people hospitalized or who were in intensive care declined.

Los Angeles County, the epicenter of the outbreak in the state, added 21 new deaths, the lowest in a week, to 1,229. The county had 781 new cases, with a total of 25,662.

France Reports Fewest Deaths in Six Weeks (2:20 p.m. NY)

France reported 135 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the fewest since March 22 — bringing the toll to 24,895 since March 1.

The number of patients in intensive care units is dropping at a slower pace, with 8 fewer patients. French authorities use the number of ICU patients as a key indicator of the outbreak’s impact on its hospital system. The nation has 3,819 patients in ICUs, with a capacity of 5,065 beds at the start of the outbreak.

Seven States in Medical Purchase Group (2:15 p.m. NY)

Seven U.S. states in the Northeast formed a consortium to cut the costs on purchases of personal protection equipment, virus tests, ventilator and other medical gear.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts said the action will increase market power and prevent price-gouging. “States are stronger when we work together,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a tweet.

“By working together across the region, we can obtain critical supplies as we begin the process to restart our economies, while also saving money for our taxpayers,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in a statement.

South Africa Cases Surge After Lockdown Eases (2 p.m. NY)

South Africa recorded it’s biggest increase in infections, with cases increasing 447 to 6,783 while the death toll rose by 8 to 131. The record jump comes just days after the country lifted the restrictive lockdown that started March 26 to slow the spread of the pandemic. One-third of the nation’s workforce will return to work starting Monday.

Gilead to Get Drug Out as Soon as This Week (1:20 p.m. NY)

Gilead Sciences will get its antiviral drug remdesivir to patients as soon as this week, Chief Executive Officer Daniel O’Day said, just days after the U.S. approved emergency use for people with Covid-19.

“We are now firmly focused on getting this medicine to the most urgent patients,” O’Day said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We intend to get that to patients in the early part of this next week, beginning to work with the government, which will determine which cities are most vulnerable and where the patients are that need this medicine.”

The post Trump Raises U.S. Death Toll Forecast to 100,000: Virus Update appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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[mrjohnhthompson]

Do Your Aging Parents Have Enough To Retire?

Some Malaysians are running out of savings soon after retiring. According to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), many withdrew 70% of their savings and spent the money in less than 30 days. The fund said members ran out of their EPF savings within three to five years after retiring despite the lifespan of Malaysians increasing to 75 years old. “More worrying are the cases where retirees withdrew 70% of their savings and spent the money in less than 30 days,” a spokeswoman for the fund was quoted as saying. EPF went to advise Malaysians, especially those about to retire, to plan their expenditure and manage their finances well, so as not to be left in the lurch during their old age. Like it or not, retirement is not going to come easy for many of us, what with the rising cost of living. So, what about our parents, then? Do they have enough to retire? Well, for starters, ask yourself these two questions:

Are they neck-deep in debt?

According to the Manulife Investor Sentiment Index, Malaysians rank the highest in Asia in terms of indebtedness. It said although Malaysians rank saving for retirement a top financial priority, its research showed a lack of financial planning. The survey revealed 68% of Malaysians have debt, the highest proportion of all eight markets surveyed in Asia, more than double the regional average of 33%. The top three causes: living expenses (60%), mortgage (44%) and children’s education (37%). It said the majority of the debt is long-term with a quarter of those in debt not expecting to be able to pay it off for three years or more. Education debt is a bane for every middle-income parent. Working parents in Malaysia spend 55% of their salaries on each child to complete tertiary education. For example, doing medicine at a private university can set a parent back anywhere from RM250,000 to RM333,000. If that parent taps into his or her EPF Account 2 to fund the entire course, he or she will be left short to live during retirement. (We have done calculations for this over here, just scroll to the “Child’s tertiary education” section.) Then there’s the usual credit card debt. Say, your dad retires with a credit card debt of 10,000 and let’s assume the interest rate is 15%. If he were to pay the minimum, he incurs RM3,158 in interest over 6 years and 11 months. If you are young and still earning a pay cheque that might not be a big deal, but when you are solely drawing out of your retirement fund, paying RM13,158 in debts is no joke.

Are they in the pink of health?

Malaysia does not rank well when it comes to health: the country has five million smokers and it is the most obese in the region. Among the top five causes of death in Malaysia are coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer. What’s worse, treating these diseases are expensive. For example, a coronary angioplasty done in a private hospital will set you back RM29,070 on average and a mastectomy can come up to RM10,160 – both are in the five-figure range and they are the norm. But these are today’s prices. You’ll have to factor in the medical inflation rate or the increase of medical expenses, which is between 10% and 15% every year. Just to give you a taster of how the inflation rates affect medical care, see the table below: [table id=641 /]   This doesn’t include post-treatment care which could easily cost six figures for five years. If your parents do not have a comprehensive and adequate health insurance coverage, this amount will have to come out from their retirement fund, or your pocket. [product name="Manulife Medical Insurance ManuMedic" image="https://www.imoney.my/articles/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Manulife_logo.png" feature="It has no lifetime limit and gives you a high individual annual limit." link="https://www.imoney.my/medical-insurance/manulife-medical-insurance/manumedic?src=internal_article_can-aging-parents-retire" target="_blank" position="mid_1_widget_medins_manulife" cta="https://www.imoney.my/medical-insurance/manulife-medical-insurance/manumedic?src=internal_article_can-aging-parents-retire" target="_blank" position="mid_2_widget_medins_manulife"]A comprehensive medical plan that includes pre- and post-hospitalisation benefits[/product] Even with health insurance, outpatient treatments are generally not covered by regular health insurance plans. To top it off, Malaysians are living longer. The average Malaysian is expected to live up to 74.7 years from 72.2, this despite diseases and illnesses. Ironically, one of the reasons is better healthcare.

So, what do you need to do?

First, evaluate your role in your parents’ finances. According to the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK), when it comes to accumulating debts, young adults often start with education loans, followed by car loans and credit cards. If you find yourself saddled with any of these, pay them off quickly instead of relying on mummy and daddy to deal with your debts. This applies to situations where you are not on a loan but your parents are paying for your education or car. For starters, get on some part-time job and bring in the cash. We have written about how ride-sharing and blogging, among others, can help you generate some income, even to the point of financing an MBA and covering your car loan. So, taking charge of what is yours as early as possible would free up your parents’ cashflow and even rescue their retirement funds. Second, and this is the hard bit, is to have a sit-down with your parents and talk about the family’s finances. If your parents don’t have anything in their nest egg, it can be scary, because you may have to support them. And this is why sandwich generation exists. Ideally, you want to encourage them to save but there’s only so much you can do – ultimately, it’s their responsibility. Introduce AKPK’s Debt Management Programme to them if they need help to renegotiate their debts. This should be done before it’s too late. Either way, this allows you to know where they stand with their finances. Maybe they need the advice of a financial planner? Or it’s time to rebalance their investment portfolio to match their age and needs? Regardless of the circumstances, many parents have sacrificed their time and money to fund their children’s endeavours. While this might be a selfless act, it also takes a toll on their finances. What you should do, at least, is to take ownership of the money they spend on you and try to alleviate that burden by trying to cover the cost yourself. But what if it is your parents’ bad habits that are affecting your financial life? Then, seek professional help and take measures to protect yourself.

The post Do Your Aging Parents Have Enough To Retire? appeared first on iMoney Malaysia.

[filosofablogger]

The minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour.  For the fulltime worker, working 40 hours a week, that equates to $58 per day, $290 per week, $15,080 per year.  The federal poverty level for an individual is $11,770, and for a family of four is $24,250.  There has long been a call to raise the minimum wage in the U.S., one which I fully support.  However, I cite these figures today for comparative purposes.

In Bangladesh, 3.5 million workers in 4,825 garment factories produce goods for export to the global market, principally Europe and North America. Nearly every major clothing store in the U.S. sells clothing made in Bangladesh, including Macy’s, The Gap, Wal-Mart, L.L. Bean, Sears, J.C. Penney and many more too numerous to list.  While you may pay $40 for that pair of Lee jeans you are wearing, or $75 for the Anne Klein sweater you gave your sister for Christmas, the people who made those items are earning far less than subsistence wages.

In Dhaka, garment workers earn 5,300 taka, about $66.39 US dollars, per month, or about $797 USD per year.  Bangladesh is the second largest clothing exporter after China, yet has the lowest minimum wage in the world. The minimum wage rate was increased in 2013 from $38 USD per month.

Last month, workers in Ashulia, a hub for garment factories on the outskirts of Dhaka, tens of thousands of workers joined a large protest for a raise in pay.  What they got, however was not what they had hoped for.  The protest caused some 50 factories to shut down for a week, many were arrested, and more than 1,500, including some who were not part of the protest, lost their jobs and were blacklisted.  Some of those who lost their jobs now fear harassment by police.

The minimum age for employment in Bangladesh is 14, however many smaller factories employ children much younger and pay them only a portion of what adults are paid.

There is also a safety factor to consider.  In 2013, known as the Rana Plaza disaster, a run-down eight-story factory complex making clothes for Primark, Benetton, Walmart and other Western brands collapsed, killing 1,138 and injuring more than 2,500 workers.  The death toll was eight times that of the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.  One factory worker described working conditions:

“Since the disaster, employees have to work harder. They have higher production targets. If they cannot fulfil them they have to work extra hours but with no overtime. It is very tough; they cannot go for toilet breaks or to drink water. They become sick. They are getting the minimum wage as per legal requirements but they are not getting a living wage.”

When workers took to the streets to protest back wages owed to them, as well as working conditions after the Rana Plaza disaster, police opened fire, used tear gas and batons, injuring at least 50.  Western clothing companies, who benefit greatly from cheap labor in Bangladesh factories, were asked to contribute to a compensation fund for the victims, but a year after the disaster, only 5 of the 27 brands had offered to help.

We all complain from time to time about our jobs, working conditions, bosses, salaries, etc. – it is human nature, I think.  My daughter and a number of my friends have truly legitimate complaints, and I empathize.  However, I think that when we put things in perspective, most U.S. workers have it pretty good.  Certainly there is room for improvement, but there always will be.  It is all relative – the minimum wage in the U.S. ranks 11th worldwide (see chart below), however Bangladesh is at the bottom of that ranking.

As I was writing this piece, I needed to go upstairs for a sweatshirt, as it is cold downstairs today, so I decided, just out of curiosity, to check the labels on a few articles of my clothing.  I found a pair of jeans was made in Egypt, while a t-shirt was manufactured in India.  But the one that confounded me was the sweatshirt of which the label says, “manufactured in EU, assembled in Mexico”.  It’s a sweatshirt, for Pete’s sake, not a 5,000-piece puzzle.  Two arms, a front and a back … and they needed to send it from the EU to Mexico to sew those four parts together?  I’m still scratching my head over that one!

It should also be noted, though it is not my reason for writing this post, but merely an aside, that some of the shirts in Donald Trump’s line of clothing are made in Bangladesh, while the rest are manufactured in China, Honduras and Vietnam. Make of that what you will.

$90 Gap jeans

I do not know what the solution to the working conditions and low wages in Bangladesh are … I wish I did.  To boycott products manufactured in that country would only exacerbate the problem, as factories would close, workers would lose their jobs altogether, and poverty would increase.  So, while I have no solutions, I think it is necessary for us to be aware.  Aware and thankful, for our lives could be so much worse, and I think we often forget that.

Meanwhile, Back At The Sweatshop … The minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour.  For the fulltime worker, working 40 hours a week, that equates to $58 per day, $290 per week, $15,080 per year. 

[filosofablogger]

The minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour.  For the fulltime worker, working 40 hours a week, that equates to $58 per day, $290 per week, $15,080 per year.  The federal poverty level for an individual is $11,770, and for a family of four is $24,250.  There has long been a call to raise the minimum wage in the U.S., one which I fully support.  However, I cite these figures today for comparative purposes.

In Bangladesh, 3.5 million workers in 4,825 garment factories produce goods for export to the global market, principally Europe and North America. Nearly every major clothing store in the U.S. sells clothing made in Bangladesh, including Macy’s, The Gap, Wal-Mart, L.L. Bean, Sears, J.C. Penney and many more too numerous to list.  While you may pay $40 for that pair of Lee jeans you are wearing, or $75 for the Anne Klein sweater you gave your sister for Christmas, the people who made those items are earning far less than subsistence wages.

In Dhaka, garment workers earn 5,300 taka, about $66.39 US dollars, per month, or about $797 USD per year.  Bangladesh is the second largest clothing exporter after China, yet has the lowest minimum wage in the world. The minimum wage rate was increased in 2013 from $38 USD per month.

Last month, workers in Ashulia, a hub for garment factories on the outskirts of Dhaka, tens of thousands of workers joined a large protest for a raise in pay.  What they got, however was not what they had hoped for.  The protest caused some 50 factories to shut down for a week, many were arrested, and more than 1,500, including some who were not part of the protest, lost their jobs and were blacklisted.  Some of those who lost their jobs now fear harassment by police.

The minimum age for employment in Bangladesh is 14, however many smaller factories employ children much younger and pay them only a portion of what adults are paid.

There is also a safety factor to consider.  In 2013, known as the Rana Plaza disaster, a run-down eight-story factory complex making clothes for Primark, Benetton, Walmart and other Western brands collapsed, killing 1,138 and injuring more than 2,500 workers.  The death toll was eight times that of the historic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.  One factory worker described working conditions:

“Since the disaster, employees have to work harder. They have higher production targets. If they cannot fulfil them they have to work extra hours but with no overtime. It is very tough; they cannot go for toilet breaks or to drink water. They become sick. They are getting the minimum wage as per legal requirements but they are not getting a living wage.”

When workers took to the streets to protest back wages owed to them, as well as working conditions after the Rana Plaza disaster, police opened fire, used tear gas and batons, injuring at least 50.  Western clothing companies, who benefit greatly from cheap labor in Bangladesh factories, were asked to contribute to a compensation fund for the victims, but a year after the disaster, only 5 of the 27 brands had offered to help.

We all complain from time to time about our jobs, working conditions, bosses, salaries, etc. – it is human nature, I think.  My daughter and a number of my friends have truly legitimate complaints, and I empathize.  However, I think that when we put things in perspective, most U.S. workers have it pretty good.  Certainly there is room for improvement, but there always will be.  It is all relative – the minimum wage in the U.S. ranks 11th worldwide (see chart below), however Bangladesh is at the bottom of that ranking.

As I was writing this piece, I needed to go upstairs for a sweatshirt, as it is cold downstairs today, so I decided, just out of curiosity, to check the labels on a few articles of my clothing.  I found a pair of jeans was made in Egypt, while a t-shirt was manufactured in India.  But the one that confounded me was the sweatshirt of which the label says, “manufactured in EU, assembled in Mexico”.  It’s a sweatshirt, for Pete’s sake, not a 5,000-piece puzzle.  Two arms, a front and a back … and they needed to send it from the EU to Mexico to sew those four parts together?  I’m still scratching my head over that one!

It should also be noted, though it is not my reason for writing this post, but merely an aside, that some of the shirts in Donald Trump’s line of clothing are made in Bangladesh, while the rest are manufactured in China, Honduras and Vietnam. Make of that what you will.

$90 Gap jeans

I do not know what the solution to the working conditions and low wages in Bangladesh are … I wish I did.  To boycott products manufactured in that country would only exacerbate the problem, as factories would close, workers would lose their jobs altogether, and poverty would increase.  So, while I have no solutions, I think it is necessary for us to be aware.  Aware and thankful, for our lives could be so much worse, and I think we often forget that.

Meanwhile, Back At The Sweatshop … The minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour.  For the fulltime worker, working 40 hours a week, that equates to $58 per day, $290 per week, $15,080 per year.