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WORRY:
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The Company Store

How Slavery Is Maintained In Modern Times

by Roland Kriewaldt

The Company Store is one of the oldest scams wherein workers must pay their employers more for living expenses than they earn. This effectively enslaves them.

The company store scam is global and even has cultural notoriety, being mentioned in North To Alaska, a song in which the singer laments: "I owe my soul to the company store!" I was reminded how tragic this situation is while watching Big Sugar, a documentary about the sugar business.

As with all parasitic relationships, the host must be desperate. In the case of the company store, the poor and uneducated are targetted to work abroad or somewhere unfamiliar, lured by promises of a steady and generous income. Naive and eager to earn a living, the worker often ignores the warning signs. And by then it's too late.

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