Clark,
<<More than 100,000 South Korean union workers at Hyundai Motor and other work sites downed tools on Wednesday as scheduled, defying authorities' threats to use force to break up strikes and arrest labour leaders.>>
To a man out of work this isn't an economic problem or a recession. It is a depression of the most severe kind. All the talk about the IMF, currency exchange, foreign capital, stock markets, and over capacity are for nought. He sits down every night and faces a family whose eyes ask the question he asks himself throughout the day and the long sleepless nights. Will we be ok?
Place millions of these desperate people in Asia and the swell of potential social unrest is almost beyond estimation. In Asia, typically there is not an iota of the social support programs that exist in the the west. Charities here, by comparison, flounder. There are virtually no safety nets.
It likely won't take long for unrest to stir in Indonesia again, as soon as masses of people realize that unemployment will continue to grow, and prices will as well.
Best,
Stitch |
