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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Honestly, most Host families are receiving the exact care they pay for you pay these young women less than minimum wage and count housing and in some (not uncommon cases) cereal as a substitute for not paying them a livable wage the program needs to be shut down and its mind-blowing that the host families have anything to complain about with the functionally free labor. You should just be grateful that countries still allow this monstruous labor abuse
 [/quote]

Program definitely needs to get shut down. No need to vilify host families, you either don’t know the economics on their side or willfully choose to disregard so you can make your incorrect “free childcare” claim.  I guess you just want to ignore the ten grand host parents pay to the agency?

I think you don’t understand family economics and only want to focus on what the Au pair gets in her pocket. You ignore what’s paid in her behalf… Also why do Au pairs continue to sign up for the program?  Aren’t they adults with free will who can read contract and make their own decision about whether or not they want to be an Au pair?  Host parents aren’t going to foreign countries and bringing Au pairs to the states in chains, ya know?[/quote]

Oh that is MUCH better that a corporation gets $10,000 while the caretakers themselves make less than minimum wage.  Everyone understands the economics here and still thinks that these women are being exploited.  If you can't afford live in care at a livable wage then that is fine but don't hide behind claiming that others don't understand why someone wants to pay low wages.   [/quote]

We may have to agree to disagree, because I think you've missed my point.  Your point is that the au pairs "make less than minimum wage."  My point is that you cannot calculate an au pair's "minimum wage" simply by dividing $200 by 45.  The au pair program is not set up as an hourly employee paying a wage.

Nevertheless, if you are going to attempt to calculate the au pair's wage, you also must include the things that are paid on the au pair's behalf, for her benefit.  Such as food, housing, health insurance, car insurance, cell phone plan, etc.

I understand why you want to disregard these line items - it undercuts your argument that au pairs make under minimum wage.  Because once you add that stuff in, au pairs likely do make above minimum wage.  Do you have a response?  (Something other than your comment that I "can't afford live in care at a livable wage").

You say that parents are getting "free childcare," yet parents can literally look at their bank account and easily calculate how much their au pair has cost them.  If those costs aren't relevant to a minimum wage argument, how do you account for them?  Because you say "everyone understands the economics," yet you haven't acknowledged these costs at all.

I think what you and I CAN agree on, is that the program should be dismantled.  Young women wanting to caregive should be provided a living wage, and support themselves on the wages.[/quote]

But dismantling the program would shut down these girls’ ability to get into the US!  Let’s be real, that’s the point for them, which would be fine if they also weren’t trying to fleece host families.  Can you imagine the hours they’d have to work and how far out they’d have to live to earn a ‘living’ wage with that skill set?[/quote]

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