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hondo122 · 11-20-2011, 09:51 AM

There was a thread about Steve Jobs a few weeks ago when he died, here's a follow up on all that Apple did for the US Apple's American job disaster | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/20/2011 typical of Us corporate culture

Mekanic · 11-20-2011, 10:19 AM

That is bad!! Some how I figured "....Wall Street's relentless focus on short-term earnings demanded...."
Would be in there.

LVJ58 · 11-20-2011, 11:12 AM

A glaring example of why there's a lack of industries in America which translates to lack of jobs for those desiring to work, lower tax revenues flowing into the Federal Coffer and the reason our Nation's economy is in such decline. The domino effect.

Safe travels to all..

Wayne M · 11-20-2011, 12:02 PM

Let us not point the finger at any single corporation. It is a rampant part of the corporate structure. We were shopping in a store the other day and everything we picked up, checked, (the things we were interested in) were "Made in China."

It is very difficult to go out and find something that you "need," and not have it manufactured in China, or some indigent country.

Wanabee FTer · 11-20-2011, 02:54 PM

Yes... most people either loved or hated Steve Jobs, but seriously... do you really think he had any other choice then to compete with manufactures which had already gone to China?

The article states Apple changed the rules, but actually corporate America changed the rules.

Quote:

But Apple changed the rules. Rather than open new plants in other U.S. cities and expand existing operations, the company, as other computer- and electronics-makers were also doing, moved production offshore, largely to China.

Obviously a biased news article by yet another Steve Jobs hater.

I'm not saying he was the greatest guy to come along since Henry Ford, I'm just saying he followed suite with all the other manufactures in order to compete in a world market.

I wish it was as simple as pointing a finger to one person for all this great nations woes.

Mekanic · 11-20-2011, 03:33 PM

I don't hate the man, I do hate the wall street greed. I work for a company that that all they talk about it the end of the quarter.

JimM68 · 11-20-2011, 03:35 PM

oh boy.... is this our first purely political thread since the "new rules"?
Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound.
If it was possible to produce goods in the USA for the same cost as producing them overseas and then shipping them here, it would be happening.
American unions have priced our country out of manufacturing.

hondo122 · 11-20-2011, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimM68

oh boy.... is this our first purely political thread since the "new rules"?
Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound.
If it was possible to produce goods in the USA for the same cost as producing them overseas and then shipping them here, it would be happening.
American unions have priced our country out of manufacturing.

This has nothing to do with politics, every thing to do with business practices.If our citizens earned a Union wage they could afford union made products. As Henry Ford said, I want my workers to be able to afford the car they make. Once you start shipping good paying jobs to low wage countries it just starts to snowball. Soon no one is left to buy American made products. Is it the Unions fault or the fault of stockholders constant pressure to increase profits at any cost? I think it's the latter, the funny thing about the lower cost labor is they don't pass the savings on to the consumer, hence $150 sneaks made by $1 a day labor. Should we all strive to race to the bottom of the wage scale, so that corporations will continue to make things in the US? The Unions are the whipping boy of big business, when they need a bogeyman to blame for their deeds. We all fall right in line and save a few pennies on inferior imported goods while profits soar. So I guess we should work for a dollar a day and the we can go home to our huts and eat our rice and beans, they will still make their profits.

PlayItForwrd · 11-20-2011, 05:33 PM

Everyone seems to forget that there's more to computers (and many other things) than where they're built...

Back in the early 80's, when the 2 Steve's unleashed computers on the world, the American Workforce lamented "oh, woe is us, computers are going to do away with secretaries, accountants and bookeepers, what will these poor people do??" For every job lost to a computer, another 5 jobs were created, in the form of someone to operate the computers, software designers, programmers, repair people, etc...

And that has never stopped. The computers may be BUILT in China, but they're used, upgraded and repaired HERE. It WOULD be nice to have it all. But there just isn't enough people willing to spend 5x the money for a U.S. made product just because it IS a U.S. made product...

beachboy27 · 11-20-2011, 05:37 PM

Let me guess, someone on here is a union man.

Mekanic · 11-20-2011, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlayItForwrd

.......

And that has never stopped. The computers may be BUILT in China, but they're used, upgraded and repaired HERE. It WOULD be nice to have it all. But there just isn't enough people willing to spend 5x the money for a U.S. made product just because it IS a U.S. made product...

5X more for usa made goods is a bit much. I look at labels. I will pay more and I have payed more for american made products. It Makes a difference to Me.
The last Blue Jeans made in the U.S.(Levi Garret) generally sold for same or less than they did when those jobs got Flushed down the crapper.

hondo122 · 11-20-2011, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachboy27

Let me guess, someone on here is a union man.

Yes, I'm a Union Carpenter. What has that to do with the matters at hand? I wasn't laying the blame for the countries woes at the feet of Steve Jobs, he's just a symptom of the larger problem. Big business looks for short term profits rather than realize that if we're all broke we can't buy their products. If it wasn't for Unions we would still be living in company towns, in a company house, buying our goods from the company store. That's history not a fairy tail.

stepside454 · 11-20-2011, 08:13 PM

It's kind of funny... I'm pro American made, but I'm a bit anti- union. Or let's just say, as a former Teamster, I don't make a good union man

B Bob · 11-20-2011, 08:29 PM

Buying locally is a very good idea for everyone in the US. It is stupid to everyone except those making money on the cheep labor to try and have your friend, uncle, brother, or sister compete with people who live in places where the wages are extremely low.

Everyone bashes China, but they are not the worst offender when it comes to unfair trade. By far the Koreans and Japanese are much worse. GM is one of the largest auto suppliers in China. How many US made autos do you think are sold in Korea? Two a year maybe. And in Japan, five a year.

The worst policy of all is the US taxpayer subsidizing foreign companies to come into the US to build factories. What a scam of the US. We pay companies to come in and take jobs away from US makers. How the heck is GM supposed to compete with Hundai or others who get tax holidays, subsidized factories and so on.

But the worm is at the moment turning with the Chinese as it did 15 years ago with Japan. It is rapidly becoming more cost effective to make things here.