>>19
you seem to be forgetting something, the companies that pay the chinee workers a really low wage, they are "us".
Also, "pay the same as us" does that mean the american minimum wage?
So you want all companies that want to export (or import i suppose?) to hand in papers about how much they page their employees in wage to the american government who would then stamp them "O.K."? That's quite a bit of beaurocracy you're amassing yourself there mister.
It's been done before though, not for the same reason, but it's been done before, by some european countries during the depression for an example, a complete import ban in order to boost national production. Now, this isn't what you're suggesting, but it is at least partly a result of what you're suggesting, but due to the fact that the entire business world is a weave across borders and nations, do all american companies have to report how much they pay their workers too? and then how much they pay their workers in other countries, and what if an american company don't pay their workers enough, are they then shut down? seized?
Now, having to pay chinese people more money raise the prices of products in america, whilst producing in china for everyone but american companies is still cheap, what you are doing is essentially throwing american dollars at china, american dollars which do not go back in to the american economy.
Now, as production cost of american products increase, export decreases, since it is no longer profitable to produce things in another country, it might as well be done in the US, but the only market on which the US economy has a chance of competing is on the US market. And since foreign companies who produce things cheaper outside of the united states cannot export to the united states, and the unites states cannot export things to the rest of the world, well, maybe the american market would magically develop into some sort of super-competitive something? But i don't really see this happening, so all you end up with is a stagnating economy and a huge beaurocratic mess.
Does this make the world a better place? maybe for few people sweatshop people in asia, but not for the people in the US. As the home market tries to press prices down, more and more people will be forced to work at minimum wage, and to be hoenst iwth you, the american minimum wage is barely enough to live on in todays america. As businesses shut down due to loosing over-seas market shars, amount of employees, both over-seas and domestic decrease, leaving less people employeed, maybe this is wheighed out by the new american sweat-shop workers though?
it's a fair idea, and i'd like the world to be a better place too, people being paid proper wages for their work, being able to send their kids to school, etc. But i don't believe your suggestion is the way to do it, rather it would take a political effort of the countries in which the sweatshops are placed, to make a minimum wage which is suitable for the price level of that country. This can be done with political pressure or lobbyism or supporting unions or whatever.
A minimum wage can of course reduce the profitability for foreign companies to place their production in the country with a minimum wage, but if all places had the minimum wage, that is to say the political pressure has been exerted on the entire world, it would be possible.