Well that didn't go so well

Apparently I started this blog 2 years ago with an almighty 1 blog entry. See, I had so many things happen to me in my first semester of Uni that I thought, "Hey, maybe I could entertain people with these stories" but now I realise that I don't do it that way. I would much rather sit at a table with my group of friends that I have adopted over the last 2 years and tell them all the drama there. I guess I'm not much of a typer.

But, I have had an idea. I doubt it will catch on, and I don't have enough information or knowledge of how all the components of this idea works, but if I can get enough people reading this and giving feedback, maybe we can improve the plan along the way.

The other day a friend of mine complained about how much clothes from a particular store cost. Now I am definately not a fashionista, I buy simple clothes that are practical and comfortable. I am also at Uni and living on a budget, so the two things combine and mean that I usually hold out for the less expensive basics and sales. However everytime I look at the label, and see where the clothes are made, I feel a little pang of guilt for the people who made my clothes. Oftentimes I don't buy big branded clothes because I don't feel comfortable knowing that I'm paying a huge price just for whatever name is scrawled on the front of whatever I'm buying.

And then there are these Occupy Wall Street protests that are going on. Now from what I can tell, these protests are about closing the gap between the rich minority and the comparatively poor majority in the company. Stop the rich from getting richer and the poor from getting poorer. I think that's great, they could definately do with a better system for education too, but that is another rant.

So what if we could close the gap between the first and the third world countries? I realise that politics plays a big role in changing some things that make a third world country what it is, but even changing a third world nation to a developing nation status is a big leap.

But here is my goal, or idealistic idea: What if everything we bought was not priced based on the company that produced it, but based on the wages the people got paid to make it? And what if big brand labels could only make a certain amount of profit off of items that hold their labels? So only the basic charge to cover copyrights and limit profit.

Yes, I know, cheap clothes already do reflect the pathetic wages and conditions that people get paid to make our things, but what if we could legally mandate that anyone who sources such things from outside the country, has to provide evidence of the wages and conditions that people get paid. If all clothes cost more then maybe the consumer-driven society might become more modest. It might also encourage in-country sourcing for labour if they have to pay higher rates outside the country anyway.

This might also be a slightly communist view, but surely this could payoff for other countries who keep paying support to help fix short term problems.

I'll add more to this when I have done my exams, because I really like this idea. Even if it is too simplistic.