August 15, 2004

MIGRANT WORKER DRAUGHT IN CHINA THIS YEAR


what a story !

 after two decades 
 of
ever larger 
 hords of migrants

coastal boom cities in china
this year are finding 
they don't seem to have enough
country rubes to kick around anymore
=====================




why?

cause besides the generally appauling
 rip offs awaiting the migrants
both on the job and off

 staying down on the farm
for the moment
 looks  better then
hittin' the road to the coast  
=========================

for rural inland  migrants 
when
its spring time
for the past twenty years or so
its been 
time 
to think about 
 going for temp work 
in one of china's 
 urban  hot  spots 

they
pretty well already 
 know
 whats waiting for them 


its been like this for years   
only its been getting worse the last few...
  

" you work hard 
buster
and 
 we exploit hard 
 thats the deal
around here "

" be sharp
be fast  
and give me 
 lots of extra hours 
then maybe we pay
you what we promise..."

" too expensive
to flop here
between shifts?
this room 
a a shake down ?
this meal a rip off
this government office
asleep  ?
 sure 
comrade  ass hole 
what you expect
this not 
red china
this new china "


-------------------------------

and just  
when 
 the coast jobs 
 seemed
nothing but
 worse and worse

don't 
farm prices rise a bit
and home plots
at least for the moment
 start 
looking 
 like a better  
  place to sweat  



so
suddenly
 lots of could be should be
job   migrants 

instead of heading
as usual
 for the coast

stayed home
for the cookin and the lovin
and oh 
the cash crops 
 growin on  their 
very own plots

====================

 marx called land 
in household hands
like this 

an umbilical cord
to mother nature

an umbilical cord 
capitalism must
slice off

massive landlessness 
is 
an essential 
long run
 condition of capitalism
--------------------------------------- 
   these spontaneous
returns
to the  household  plots 
are a sign

something must change

 it'll be 

 either 
plan A CHANGE
or 
plan B CHANGE

one or a mix of both 
must follow

under      plan a  
  
      migrant wages
corrected for off shift living costs
and on job
 work conditions 
will improve
in coastal china   
to increase the hickster  lure
 
under plan b 

 the familly plots 
cash  producing potential
 piece by piece 
will be 
 sqeezed down to nothing

 plan a requires 
       a major 
course correction 
among chinas entrepreneurs 


all plan b  requires 
 are some 
  belowest farm prices possible 
and or 
some wild rent/lease price surges

don't bet 
on the hundreds of millions 
of hoaky ruby 
  good guys 
getting
mostly  plan a 


no bet instead

mostly the river
of country living 
 will be lowered 

cause raising 
 the urban bridge
puts
 the burmese
torture boot 
on the wrong foot  
--------------------------

details aside

the "system" planners
 will probably 
up the imports of cereals

 crash  crop prices
start a default run
land holding consolidation
in the countryside....
soon enough 
as leases rise
and debt payments choke hared and harder
the migrants will
 start flocking
 on back
to the coast 
for a nice 
 seasonal plucking 

shit sailors
 wasn't this  
done repeatedly 
in korea and taiwan

didn't
"the system"
 step by step 
 plot strip 
the needed 
 wagery herds 
  
 folks
 count on this

them chinky tops
will find 
the fastest 
bestest
way
to shoot 
those  sorry bastards
right  back 
to the coast
where they belong

" gotta   keep  
 wages on the floor

right comrade

  thats whats
 best
and brightest 
if we party people 
want 
china
to make fast  progress  
 climbing  
the western mountains  "

===================== 
Posted by pinky at August 15, 2004 02:42 PM
damn good post. do you know if this Three gorges dam project contentious for farmers? (molly points out it is also a big US - China clash: trade protections for US goods is coming to rely the un-"ecological" standards of foreign production)

Posted by: sammo at August 16, 2004 03:13 AM

china no red butfuck china no green either

Posted by: pink at August 29, 2004 08:41 AM

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