To the Point
Are Chinese Workers Paying the Price for Cheap Goods?
More than a year ago, we looked at the health and safety of workers in China, who make so much of the merchandise in American stores. In the meantime, the summer Olympics gave China's image a shot in the arm, but for millions of working people, nothing has changed. On this archived edition of To the Point, we hear who's paying the real cost of supposedly "cheap" merchandise. Also, a gloomy outlook for holiday spending, and the last word on traffic.
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenMore than a year ago, we looked at the health and safety of workers in China, who make so much of the merchandise in American stores. In the meantime, the summer Olympics gave China's image a shot in the arm, but for millions of working people, nothing has changed. On this evergreen edition of To the Point, we hear who's paying the real cost of supposedly "cheap" merchandise. Also, a gloomy outlook for holiday spending, and the facts, the figures -- and the psychology -- of driving in traffic.
Banner image: Workers conduct quality-control checks on tires at the Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company factory, 25 July 2007. Photo: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesGloomy Outlook for Holiday Season Spending
The day after Thanksgiving traditionally is the biggest shopping day of the year. But this time, things could be different. Economics Professor Michael Allison tracks the retail industry at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Read the story6 minAre Chinese Workers Paying the Price for Cheap Goods?
Late last year, as Congress considered a ban on imports from overseas "sweatshops," we broadcast a program on working conditions in China. Witnesses, backed by journalistic investigators, told of workers exposed to a witches’ brew of cancer-causing chemicals 84 hours a week for 53¢ an hour.
Read the story32 minAll the Stuff You Don't Know about...Traffic
You probably think you're a pretty good driver, at least you're better than the guy who just cut in on you or the woman who slowed down without any apparent reason. Think again. "Why you're not as good a driver as you think you are," is Chapter Two of a new book called, Traffic that's full of surprising, often counterintuitive, information.
Read the story10 min
