Lessons Inwards My Laundry: Hong Kong Edition

I practise irregular (but extended) concern travel. (It comes from living inwards Commonwealth of Australia – when y'all go it is unremarkably to a greater extent than than a week.)

And so I discovery myself needing to launder together with atomic position out 26 concern shirts together with press a suit. Nothing complicated – but strangely the cost together with physical care for changes yesteryear country. In New York I unremarkably rest inwards Brooklyn together with my walk to the subway takes me yesteryear a Chinese laundry which is breathtakingly inexpensive – my purse unremarkably costs nether $12. That is close a quarter what I would pay inwards Sydney (which is an expensive urban inwardness for almost everything) together with a tertiary London. Brooklyn seems cheaper than other US cities.

This low-cost laundry (clearly a practise goodness to me) is made possible yesteryear a near-sweatshop centralised Chinese laundry where (immigrant) workers piece of work difficult for what may or may non last minimum wage.

When I wrote a post close that I was criticised for daring to province the obvious close income inequality inwards the United States. It is a taboo topic. In my defense several readers noted that investment bankers regularly press their ain shirts inwards London. I sure as shooting practise inwards Sydney.

When I stayed inwards a friend's work solid inwards Chicago I discovered much to my surprise they did non induce got an ironing board. I idea it worth a spider web log post. And whilst the underlying tone was that income inequality was non the finest attribute of a gild I induce got to say it is non solely a bad thing. The duad I rest with inwards Chicago are a monstrously successful hubby together with married adult woman squad with children. Very few married women with children clit that off inwards Sydney – together with the argue was obvious. The wife's piece of work life (high profile but only moderately remunerative) relied to a greater extent than than a trivial on the 2 nannies together with the implied low-wage workers (such every bit the staff at the local laundry) who relieved her of the mundane house-work that fills many (mostly female) lives inwards Australia.

This was feminist achievement made possible yesteryear income inequality. But it was achievement at a real high storey together with the USA is improve for it.

This trip I stayed at a friend's storey inwards Hong Kong. Nice house – non huge – but half-way upwards the Mountain on Hong Kong Island with an expansive persuasion of skyline (when y'all tin dismiss come across through the pollution).

I asked to borrow an ironing board. My friend said he could practise better. He knocked at a modest door yesteryear the closet side yesteryear side to the kitchen together with out popped a Filipino house-keeper peradventure xx years his senior. She cheerfully laundered my clothe together with left them neatly pressed. She also made me breakfast, cleaned upwards my dishes together with made my bed when I went to work.

I made a hollo for of trying to piece of work out her story. She had been a migrant worker throughout her life – generally inwards Hong Kong but also inwards Dubai (which she institute harder). She was thinly educated but idea her children (who she had spent years away from) were improve prepared than her. The argue for migrant piece of work was to educate her children (though I know null close their prospects – the Philippines are non a highly functional place). Unlike Harry Potter she did non exhibit whatever unhappiness inwards living inwards the “cupboard nether the stairs”. Instead it was a step-up for her together with (especially) for her family. And it was improve than Dubai.

But it made me deeply uncomfortable. Migrant workers are a profoundly anti-democratic establishment – they render a degree of very-low income people who don't vote. The ethos of republic is something burnt into my consciousness. In this ethos nosotros are “created” equal (and thence induce got an equal vote) together with dint of luck together with difficult piece of work (or coming from the correct womb) reach inequalities (some deserved, merely about otherwise). But the vote (hopefully a tube ballot) is i of the smashing equalisers – together with acts to practise a to a greater extent than harmonious gild (albeit i that volition interfere with income distribution to merely about extent). The adult woman who cheerfully lived inwards the closet nether the stairs challenged what I idea was correct inwards the world.

But so I was inwards Hong Kong (that is China) together with merely about other low-wage worker who does non vote inwards mainland People's Republic of China seems – good – somewhat irrelevant. And my basis persuasion was out of place. Moreover the woman's children were clearly improve off for her migrant work. And the Philippines would last a truthful handbasket illustration without remittances.

And low-income workers are a gift to those who instruct to employ them. They brand the Feminist achievements of my above-mentioned Chicago friends possible. They tin dismiss complimentary productive people to piece of work on things that were productive.

And that was clearly the illustration for my friend – consciously trying to option upwards additional commercial languages (think India), improve his reckoner processing skills (python) together with read a majority per week. His ambition to gear upwards himself into every bit fine a thinker (and with every bit many diversified mental models) every bit Charlie Munger. Human uppercase evolution made possible yesteryear the profoundly undemocratic establishment of migrant work.

But that was non the only matter people practise with their wealth inwards Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island has instruct a pastiche of business office towers for fiscal businesses together with shopping malls selling the global measure laid of luxury goods. Interspersed alongside that are fashionable but ultimately vacuous bars where y'all tin dismiss instruct wasted inwards the fourth dimension y'all would induce got otherwise spent ironing your clothe together with doing the dishes. It is non far (just a subway) from Kowloon where y'all tin dismiss sense the smells together with sounds of Asia – but they joke on Hong Kong Island that y'all demand your passport to choke there.

This is a basis real unlike to mine – with merely about amazingly productive people – their productivity made possible yesteryear the institutions of China. Interspersed alongside that the most dilettante hedonistic lifestyle of an elite who tin dismiss mean value of null improve to pass their loot on than Swiss watches together with French Brandy.

Whatever: I am going to brand a confession. I liked having mortal launder my clothe together with the fashionable bars are real cool. Freeing upwards all that fourth dimension to read an extra majority per calendar week – that would last real cool too.




John