Passed on to the Consumers

Guess who wants better wages...

Besides every person on the planet who works for wages, the specific answer I'm looking for is the Chinese manufacturing class.

Remember all those cheap Chinese wares that are available almost everywhere in America, and exclusively at places like Walmart and Target? Well, one of the things that made them so cheap was that their manufacturers were being paid very, very little.

Now, the Chinese middle class is becoming educated about the rest of the world, and about the perceived standard of living for some (imaginary) middle class, and are demanding better wages.

And getting them.

Many cities are raising their minimum wage, some have done so more than twice in as many months, and the working class are happily growing into a consumer class (d'oh?).

But, don't feel bad for the Chinese tycoons who are forced to pay their workers in excess of $500 American a month, they won't lose a whole lot of money. They have their own solution: Make the Americans pay. They're passing it along to the foreign consumer market.

So, all those cheap Chinese wares might still be cheap, they'll just be less affordable.