--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Though people could, in principle, cross…" description: "\"Though people could, in principle, cross national borders to reach places where their work is more highly rewarded, they are in fact prevented from doi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-pogge-7757_babysitter_though-people-could-in-principle-cross-n_2116526.jpg" --- # Though people could, in principle, cross national borders… ![“Though people could, in principle, cross national borders to reach places where their work is more highly rewarded, they are in fact prevented from doing so. As a result, huge differences also persist in the price of labor, as you can see when you get a haircut in rural India or hire a driver or…” quote by Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-pogge-7757_babysitter_though-people-could-in-principle-cross-n_2116526.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-pogge-7757_babysitter_though-people-could-in-principle-cross-n_2116526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/thomas-pogge-7757_babysitter_though-people-could-in-principle-cross-n_2116526.jpg) > “Though people could, in principle, cross national borders to reach places where their work is more highly rewarded, they are in fact prevented from doing so. As a result, huge differences also persist in the price of labor, as you can see when you get a haircut in rural India or hire a driver or babysitter in Bolivia. You can easily buy such services at one-fiftieth the price you would pay in London, Hamburg or Manhattan.” [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labor markets are segmented by borders, causing massive wage gaps despite equal ability to move. **In simple terms:** Borders create huge wage differences. Key Takeaway Address global labor mobility barriers. Themes economic inequality globalization labor markets border policy wage disparity Mood critical analytical concerned Type policy economic ethical When to use this quote - policy reform - international trade agreements - skill-based immigration - fair wage advocacy Key Concepts human rights economic efficiency migration economics Questions to Reflect On - How can policies balance national interests with global labor equity? - What mechanisms could reduce wage gaps without harming local economies? A Different Perspective Legal and political constraints limit free movement of labor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Babysitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babysitter/) [Bolivia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bolivia/) [Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [Borders Reach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders-reach-4297166/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Drivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drivers/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Haircuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haircuts/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/india/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Manhattan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manhattan/) [National borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-borders/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persist/) [Places Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/places-work-1026227/) [Price Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/price-labor-507345/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Reach Places](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reach-places-351200/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) ## Related quotes > [In 88 poor countries for which we have data, in each and every one of the 88, the PPP for food shows that poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/in-88-poor-countries-for-which-we-have-data-in-each-and-every-one-of/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [“music can reach those places where words alone can’t go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/music-can-reach-those-places-where-words-alone-can-t-go/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/there-are-no-mistakes-the-events-we-bring-upon-ourselves-no-matter/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [For any artist, it is the biggest dream for his work to reach places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devi-sri-prasad/for-any-artist-it-is-the-biggest-dream-for-his-work-to-reach-places/) [Devi Sri Prasad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devi-sri-prasad/) > [“The only way you're going to reach places you've never gone is if you trust God's direction to do things you've never done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/the-only-way-you-re-going-to-reach-places-you-ve-never-gone-is-if-you/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“I’ll make a swing so I can reach the places I can’t reach yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/i-ll-make-a-swing-so-i-can-reach-the-places-i-can-t-reach-yet/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > [God sells us all things at the price of labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/god-sells-us-all-things-at-the-price-of-labor/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Labor, being itself a commodity, is measured as such by the labor time needed to produce the labor-commodity. And what is needed to produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/labor-being-itself-a-commodity-is-measured-as-such-by-the-labor-time/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“WE HAVE ALREADY seen some of the harmful results of arbitrary governmental efforts to raise the price of favored commodities. The same sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/we-have-already-seen-some-of-the-harmful-results-of-arbitrary/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [In a lot of work places, you work at a lot of jobs and people work more with their colleagues than with their family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hornsby/in-a-lot-of-work-places-you-work-at-a-lot-of-jobs-and-people-work/) [Russell Hornsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hornsby/) > [As long as you know how to handle yourself, the film industry is probably one of the best places to work in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shriya-saran/as-long-as-you-know-how-to-handle-yourself-the-film-industry-is/) [Shriya Saran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shriya-saran/) > [Martello towers are great places to work in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-sandoval/martello-towers-are-great-places-to-work-in/) [Hope Sandoval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-sandoval/) > [I'd be 100 percent supportive of a minimum wage - kind of industry specific, maybe regionally specific - for guest workers, so that we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-johnson/i-d-be-100-percent-supportive-of-a-minimum-wage-kind-of-industry/) [Ron Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-johnson/) > [Thou, O God, dost sell us all good things at the price of labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/thou-o-god-dost-sell-us-all-good-things-at-the-price-of-labor/) [Leonardo Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“It is, perhaps, impossible to proportion exactly the price of labor to the profits it produces; and it will also be said, as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-is-perhaps-impossible-to-proportion-exactly-the-price-of-labor-to/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More by Thomas Pogge > [I think that many citizens understand how our system works, or rather, fails to work, for structural reasons. But who has the capacity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/i-think-that-many-citizens-understand-how-our-system-works-or-rather/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [The massive corruption common in so many developing countries would be quite impossible if Western countries did not provide convenient opportunities to ship ill-gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/the-massive-corruption-common-in-so-many-developing-countries-would/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [What we should do is require or at least permit innovators to license their green innovations free of charge in exchange for public payments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/what-we-should-do-is-require-or-at-least-permit-innovators-to-license/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [You can get an ice-cold Coke for around fifty cents in most developing countries, not just in the major population centers, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/you-can-get-an-ice-cold-coke-for-around-fifty-cents-in-most/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [I think one big improvement would be if we somehow made it cheaper and easier for developing countries to learn from the sad experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/i-think-one-big-improvement-would-be-if-we-somehow-made-it-cheaper/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Purchasing power parities are not a reasonable method for comparing households across countries or currencies. The reason for this is simply that PPPs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/purchasing-power-parities-are-not-a-reasonable-method-for-comparing/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [The extremely low respect Congress enjoys among the population indicates that the citizens understand broadly what's going on. But the lack of a realistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/the-extremely-low-respect-congress-enjoys-among-the-population/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [One citizen, or a few, may be powerless if all the rest are determined to benefit from the imposition of unjust supranational rules. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/one-citizen-or-a-few-may-be-powerless-if-all-the-rest-are-determined/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Severe poverty is getting better by some measures, but it's also becoming ever more scandalous because it is now so easily avoidable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/severe-poverty-is-getting-better-by-some-measures-but-it-s-also/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [To improve global health, it's not enough just to have a really good new product and to obtain marketing approval. You still need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/to-improve-global-health-it-s-not-enough-just-to-have-a-really-good/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [We have the ability now to arrange global economic institutions so that poverty declines to a fraction of what it is now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/we-have-the-ability-now-to-arrange-global-economic-institutions-so/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Dictatorial regimes often manage to keep themselves in power because they are recognized by foreigners as representing the state and its people, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/dictatorial-regimes-often-manage-to-keep-themselves-in-power-because/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Drafts of domestic legislation must be published, debated and publicly voted on, which gives ample opportunities to civil society organizations and ordinary citizens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/drafts-of-domestic-legislation-must-be-published-debated-and-publicly/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [In the United States there are only two exceptions: banks have to report deposits they suspect to be related to either terrorism or drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/in-the-united-states-there-are-only-two-exceptions-banks-have-to/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) > [Large companies are very good at solving extremely complex problems in a globally optimal way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pogge/large-companies-are-very-good-at-solving-extremely-complex-problems/) [Thomas Pogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) [Explore all 88 Thomas Pogge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pogge/) ## More Babysitter quotes > [We did an episode where she goes out to get a job and she gets fired because she's not good. They hire a babysitter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-heaton/we-did-an-episode-where-she-goes-out-to-get-a-job-and-she-gets-fired/) [Patricia Heaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-heaton/) > [In advertisements for your favorite products, are women denigrated or objectified in some way? All of that is important. I would rewrite my kids'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geena-davis/in-advertisements-for-your-favorite-products-are-women-denigrated-or/) [Geena Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geena-davis/) > [Most of the things that I remember from childhood wouldn't make a particularly good story: rescuing worms during rainstorms, our schnauzer attacking a wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/most-of-the-things-that-i-remember-from-childhood-wouldn-t-make-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [A babysitter is a teenager acting like an adult while the adults are out acting like teenagers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-babysitter-is-a-teenager-acting-like-an-adult-while-the-adults-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was not easy for my mother, being a struggling actress and raising a child. We were these two sort of vagabonds, never knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-applegate/it-was-not-easy-for-my-mother-being-a-struggling-actress-and-raising/) [Christina Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-applegate/) > [Leo: "So...giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/leo-so-giants-who-can-throw-mountains-friendly-wolves-that-will-eat/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [There is no part of me that feels that I represented myself as your children’s babysitter or their teacher. I was always, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/there-is-no-part-of-me-that-feels-that-i-represented-myself-as-your/) [J. K. 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I wandered right from 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/when-i-was-growing-up-if-there-was-a-young-adult-section-of-my-town-s/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I begged my mom to take me to CPR class at the age of 12 because I wanted to start being a babysitter in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/i-begged-my-mom-to-take-me-to-cpr-class-at-the-age-of-12-because-i/) [Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/) > [Many times we talk about the people that have come to enjoy the show. They went through a lot to get here, whatever they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-petrucci/many-times-we-talk-about-the-people-that-have-come-to-enjoy-the-show/) [John Petrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-petrucci/) > [“Mom just got you a babysitter! She had to pay her a ton to stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-carter/mom-just-got-you-a-babysitter-she-had-to-pay-her-a-ton-to-stay/) [Renee Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-carter/) > [I clip hand sanitizer to my purse. I used to be a babysitter back in the day, so I got germaphobic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-c-moore/i-clip-hand-sanitizer-to-my-purse-i-used-to-be-a-babysitter-back-in/) [Adrienne C. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-c-moore/) > [It is a little ironic that one thing a babysitter should not do is sit on a baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/it-is-a-little-ironic-that-one-thing-a-babysitter-should-not-do-is/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) [Browse all 98 Babysitter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/babysitter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Though people could, in principle, cross national borders to reach places where their work is more highly rewarded, they are in fact prevented from doing so. As a result, huge differences also persist in the price of labor, as you can see when you get a haircut in rural India or hire a driver or babysitter in Bolivia. 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