In Bangladesh earlier today, a building that housed several garment factories collapsed, killing at least 70 people, according to The New York Times.  Cracks in the structure had been noticed the day before, but workers were ordered to report anyway.

In November, a fire at another Bangladesh garment factory took the lives of 111 people.

Many if not most of these workers were making the minimum wage of 21 cents an hour.  The website for the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (whose headquarters are in Pittsburgh) reports that this is the lowest hourly wage in the world, even less than Pakistan’s 37 cents, China’s 93 cents, and Guatemala’s $1.21.

These workers were so desperate to survive that they were willing to work in death traps for 21 cents an hour.  Walmart, by comparison, makes a profit of $2.6 million per hour, every hour of the day.  Clothing sales account for 13% of Walmart’s income.

It has been said before (what hasn’t been) but many of the cheap things we buy in America are not cheap at all — it just means that someone else is paying the price, either in terms of environmental damage, resource depletion, poor health or even loss of life.  We don’t take advantage of other people’s productivity as much as we do their desperation.

In our addiction to cheap, Walmart may be the pusher but we are the users.  This is on us.  What you do about it is up to you.