It is a shame that an innovative company like Apple does not want to make the effort to automate the assembly process so that their products do not have to be made by slave labor.
I don't think that's realistic for a while yet. Putting components in computers is a fiddly job, robots are not dexterous enough.
In general I am in favor of offshoring work overseas, it frees up labor for new endeavours. Without it, everyone would be tied up forever making the "current" things, with no one available for hire by entrepreneurs who want to try new things.
Some of these foreign nations think they are waging economic war - taking the foreign devil's jobs, muhahahha, etc. But in reality they are enabling us to move forward. They don't understand that the main problem in the developed world is not employing everyone, it is finding enough people for all the ideas we want to explore.
The current unemployment in the US is an historical exception.
It is fascinating to read the ignorant rants being posted here. Americans, of which I am one, are by and large truly ignorant about what goes on in the rest of the world (which I am not), and even ignorant about what is going on in the US. I can remember my summer job when I was in college where I was working on a Ford assembly line and it was mandatory overtime - we worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had two days off the entire summer! And that was in a union shop! But now I guess everyone thinks that would be slave labor. (The reality is thousands of people would be lined up to apply for a job like that in the US today.) These Chinese factories referred to in these articles are far from being sweatshops. These are modern factories. Housing and meals are provided, athletic facilities, etc etc. The reality is that the suicide rate is actually LOWER than in the US, by far. And the conditions are better than my summer jobs working at the auto plant and two summers working the ovens at the steel mills in Cleveland.
And then we have the tool that talks about entertainment being government propaganda and all his other dribble. No, they are lined up at 5 a.m. to get tickets to the constantly sold out showings of Avatar at the local iMax theater. My wife, our newborn baby and I are currently living in China and I have been coming here for the last 11 years (my wife is Chinese) and I can tell you that you are all clueless as to what it's really like here. China has modernized like no other country in history. Factories are making conditions better all the time as expectations and worker demands are higher, and wages are increasing as are living conditions. So please, it would be better to keep your fingers off the keyboard when you truly don't know what you are talking about.
Hi FreeRange, I am not american (just to have it mentioned) and I truly appreciate your rather insightful comment, although, I would say that you bring it on a little too hard. Of course I have the feeling myself, that many US- citizens don't really understand the concept, if shipping east or west, that they will find other landmasses than america.
It is fascinating to read the ignorant rants being posted here. Americans, of which I am one, are by and large truly ignorant about what goes on in the rest of the world (which I am not), and even ignorant about what is going on in the US. I can remember my summer job when I was in college where I was working on a Ford assembly line and it was mandatory overtime - we worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had two days off the entire summer! And that was in a union shop! But now I guess everyone thinks that would be slave labor. (The reality is thousands of people would be lined up to apply for a job like that in the US today.) These Chinese factories referred to in these articles are far from being sweatshops. These are modern factories. Housing and meals are provided, athletic facilities, etc etc. The reality is that the suicide rate is actually LOWER than in the US, by far. And the conditions are better than my summer jobs working at the auto plant and two summers working the ovens at the steel mills in Cleveland.
And then we have the tool that talks about entertainment being government propaganda and all his other dribble. No, they are lined up at 5 a.m. to get tickets to the constantly sold out showings of Avatar at the local iMax theater. My wife, our newborn baby and I are currently living in China and I have been coming here for the last 11 years (my wife is Chinese) and I can tell you that you are all clueless as to what it's really like here. China has modernized like no other country in history. Factories are making conditions better all the time as expectations and worker demands are higher, and wages are increasing as are living conditions. So please, it would be better to keep your fingers off the keyboard when you truly don't know what you are talking about.
Watch it. You're making way too much sense for some of the folks here.
Living in a major chinese city as an expat is one thing. Living dirt poor in the countryside is different. Parts of China have modernized significantly. Others have not.
Have you traveled to the Appalachians? To the inner cities in a large US city? Heck, Detroit?
Steve Jobs defends using this sweatshop to line his pockets. He should be ashamed. How would he like to work there? Why doesn't Apple just admit they use this place because it's cheap and it's how business is done in America.
Why doesn't Dell, HP, Nokia and Sony just admit they use this place because it's cheap and it's how business is done?
M'kay...lighten up Francis. I'm sure when you were in college you had to walk to the auto plant up hill both ways and surely nobody currently living in the US works long hours anymore.
Living in a major chinese city as an expat is one thing. Living dirt poor in the countryside is different. Parts of China have modernized significantly. Others have not. It's still a communist country and the Chinese are pragmatic.
True. It's like somebody judging the US just by living in NYC. You can't generalize about the rural south using just that experience.
He should have paid more attention in college and spent less time on the assembly line. too. It's "drivel," not "dribble."
So it seems this company manages their entire lives, rather than just giving them a set number of hours to work and letting them go out and do their own thing on their time off.
Why is this? Is there a lack of a city/town with stuff to do and social activities around these companies? Or is that just the way Chinese culture works, where your company manages your entire life rather than just your time at work?
It is fascinating to read the ignorant rants being posted here. Americans, of which I am one, are by and large truly ignorant about what goes on in the rest of the world (which I am not), and even ignorant about what is going on in the US. I can remember my summer job when I was in college where I was working on a Ford assembly line and it was mandatory overtime - we worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had two days off the entire summer! And that was in a union shop! But now I guess everyone thinks that would be slave labor. (The reality is thousands of people would be lined up to apply for a job like that in the US today.) These Chinese factories referred to in these articles are far from being sweatshops. These are modern factories. Housing and meals are provided, athletic facilities, etc etc. The reality is that the suicide rate is actually LOWER than in the US, by far. And the conditions are better than my summer jobs working at the auto plant and two summers working the ovens at the steel mills in Cleveland.
And then we have the tool that talks about entertainment being government propaganda and all his other dribble. No, they are lined up at 5 a.m. to get tickets to the constantly sold out showings of Avatar at the local iMax theater. My wife, our newborn baby and I are currently living in China and I have been coming here for the last 11 years (my wife is Chinese) and I can tell you that you are all clueless as to what it's really like here. China has modernized like no other country in history. Factories are making conditions better all the time as expectations and worker demands are higher, and wages are increasing as are living conditions. So please, it would be better to keep your fingers off the keyboard when you truly don't know what you are talking about.
Good post. AI is better when people bring new perspectives like this rather than having never visited or really taken the time to understand other places. It seems easier for people to just hit the keyboard but it's no substitute to being there.
Just look at the annual wages rises in China and it's incredible how positive this must be for people's lives there, supporting urbanization and other changes and yet things like that are almost never reported in the main news channels.
... surely nobody currently living in the US works long hours anymore.
Obviously you have no clue. I wonder how much time you have spent in large US corporation in the USA. That actually has changed the opposite you say. Only those who prepare to be unemployed do not work long hours anymore.
And BTW it is not theory. I have been working for them (roughly seven of them) for last 15 years and I have seen the change.
Try some finance around NYSE apart of technology corps. to see for yourself what direction it went. You will be surprized. Unless of course you do not count blackberry job related communication work when you want to watch movie with your family or confenerence calls 2-4AM in the night with those guys working day shift in Bangalore.
Comments
It is a shame that an innovative company like Apple does not want to make the effort to automate the assembly process so that their products do not have to be made by slave labor.
I don't think that's realistic for a while yet. Putting components in computers is a fiddly job, robots are not dexterous enough.
In general I am in favor of offshoring work overseas, it frees up labor for new endeavours. Without it, everyone would be tied up forever making the "current" things, with no one available for hire by entrepreneurs who want to try new things.
Some of these foreign nations think they are waging economic war - taking the foreign devil's jobs, muhahahha, etc. But in reality they are enabling us to move forward. They don't understand that the main problem in the developed world is not employing everyone, it is finding enough people for all the ideas we want to explore.
The current unemployment in the US is an historical exception.
I wonder what the suicide rate is in this American city and should we boycott them?
It is fascinating to read the ignorant rants being posted here. Americans, of which I am one, are by and large truly ignorant about what goes on in the rest of the world (which I am not), and even ignorant about what is going on in the US. I can remember my summer job when I was in college where I was working on a Ford assembly line and it was mandatory overtime - we worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had two days off the entire summer! And that was in a union shop! But now I guess everyone thinks that would be slave labor. (The reality is thousands of people would be lined up to apply for a job like that in the US today.) These Chinese factories referred to in these articles are far from being sweatshops. These are modern factories. Housing and meals are provided, athletic facilities, etc etc. The reality is that the suicide rate is actually LOWER than in the US, by far. And the conditions are better than my summer jobs working at the auto plant and two summers working the ovens at the steel mills in Cleveland.
And then we have the tool that talks about entertainment being government propaganda and all his other dribble. No, they are lined up at 5 a.m. to get tickets to the constantly sold out showings of Avatar at the local iMax theater. My wife, our newborn baby and I are currently living in China and I have been coming here for the last 11 years (my wife is Chinese) and I can tell you that you are all clueless as to what it's really like here. China has modernized like no other country in history. Factories are making conditions better all the time as expectations and worker demands are higher, and wages are increasing as are living conditions. So please, it would be better to keep your fingers off the keyboard when you truly don't know what you are talking about.
Hi FreeRange, I am not american (just to have it mentioned) and I truly appreciate your rather insightful comment, although, I would say that you bring it on a little too hard. Of course I have the feeling myself, that many US- citizens don't really understand the concept, if shipping east or west, that they will find other landmasses than america.
The US corporate tax is 40% at least.
Get real. The effective corporate tax rate for profitable US companies is way below that.
It is fascinating to read the ignorant rants being posted here. Americans, of which I am one, are by and large truly ignorant about what goes on in the rest of the world (which I am not), and even ignorant about what is going on in the US. I can remember my summer job when I was in college where I was working on a Ford assembly line and it was mandatory overtime - we worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had two days off the entire summer! And that was in a union shop! But now I guess everyone thinks that would be slave labor. (The reality is thousands of people would be lined up to apply for a job like that in the US today.) These Chinese factories referred to in these articles are far from being sweatshops. These are modern factories. Housing and meals are provided, athletic facilities, etc etc. The reality is that the suicide rate is actually LOWER than in the US, by far. And the conditions are better than my summer jobs working at the auto plant and two summers working the ovens at the steel mills in Cleveland.
And then we have the tool that talks about entertainment being government propaganda and all his other dribble. No, they are lined up at 5 a.m. to get tickets to the constantly sold out showings of Avatar at the local iMax theater. My wife, our newborn baby and I are currently living in China and I have been coming here for the last 11 years (my wife is Chinese) and I can tell you that you are all clueless as to what it's really like here. China has modernized like no other country in history. Factories are making conditions better all the time as expectations and worker demands are higher, and wages are increasing as are living conditions. So please, it would be better to keep your fingers off the keyboard when you truly don't know what you are talking about.
Watch it. You're making way too much sense for some of the folks here.
Living in a major chinese city as an expat is one thing. Living dirt poor in the countryside is different. Parts of China have modernized significantly. Others have not.
Have you traveled to the Appalachians? To the inner cities in a large US city? Heck, Detroit?
The suicide rate at foxconn is lower than the average in the US and china. What's the problem then? It's 13 in 400,000
Exactly. But facts are pointless with much of our media today (and lazy commenters).
Steve Jobs defends using this sweatshop to line his pockets. He should be ashamed. How would he like to work there? Why doesn't Apple just admit they use this place because it's cheap and it's how business is done in America.
Why doesn't Dell, HP, Nokia and Sony just admit they use this place because it's cheap and it's how business is done?
Why doesn't Dell, HP, Nokia and Sony just admit they use this place because it's cheap and it's how business is done?
Because it looks bad. We want to be guilt free whilst we merrily stroll down the street texting.
M'kay...lighten up Francis. I'm sure when you were in college you had to walk to the auto plant up hill both ways and surely nobody currently living in the US works long hours anymore.
Living in a major chinese city as an expat is one thing. Living dirt poor in the countryside is different. Parts of China have modernized significantly. Others have not. It's still a communist country and the Chinese are pragmatic.
True. It's like somebody judging the US just by living in NYC. You can't generalize about the rural south using just that experience.
He should have paid more attention in college and spent less time on the assembly line. too. It's "drivel," not "dribble."
True. It's like somebody judging the US just by living in NYC. You can't generalize about the rural south using just that experience.
Aren't the commenters here making the same errors in judgment?
Why is this? Is there a lack of a city/town with stuff to do and social activities around these companies? Or is that just the way Chinese culture works, where your company manages your entire life rather than just your time at work?
Aren't the commenters here making the same errors in judgment?
Does it matter? Two wrongs don't make a right.
Tumescence Tuesdays
Wet t-shirt Wednesdays
Thirsty Thursdays
Freaky Fridays (Hookers)
Soma Saturdays
Sexy Sundays (strippers)
"put food on their family".
Put food on their family? I know times are hard but no need to take it out on the family
It is fascinating to read the ignorant rants being posted here. Americans, of which I am one, are by and large truly ignorant about what goes on in the rest of the world (which I am not), and even ignorant about what is going on in the US. I can remember my summer job when I was in college where I was working on a Ford assembly line and it was mandatory overtime - we worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. I had two days off the entire summer! And that was in a union shop! But now I guess everyone thinks that would be slave labor. (The reality is thousands of people would be lined up to apply for a job like that in the US today.) These Chinese factories referred to in these articles are far from being sweatshops. These are modern factories. Housing and meals are provided, athletic facilities, etc etc. The reality is that the suicide rate is actually LOWER than in the US, by far. And the conditions are better than my summer jobs working at the auto plant and two summers working the ovens at the steel mills in Cleveland.
And then we have the tool that talks about entertainment being government propaganda and all his other dribble. No, they are lined up at 5 a.m. to get tickets to the constantly sold out showings of Avatar at the local iMax theater. My wife, our newborn baby and I are currently living in China and I have been coming here for the last 11 years (my wife is Chinese) and I can tell you that you are all clueless as to what it's really like here. China has modernized like no other country in history. Factories are making conditions better all the time as expectations and worker demands are higher, and wages are increasing as are living conditions. So please, it would be better to keep your fingers off the keyboard when you truly don't know what you are talking about.
Good post. AI is better when people bring new perspectives like this rather than having never visited or really taken the time to understand other places. It seems easier for people to just hit the keyboard but it's no substitute to being there.
Just look at the annual wages rises in China and it's incredible how positive this must be for people's lives there, supporting urbanization and other changes and yet things like that are almost never reported in the main news channels.
... surely nobody currently living in the US works long hours anymore.
Obviously you have no clue. I wonder how much time you have spent in large US corporation in the USA. That actually has changed the opposite you say. Only those who prepare to be unemployed do not work long hours anymore.
And BTW it is not theory. I have been working for them (roughly seven of them) for last 15 years and I have seen the change.
Try some finance around NYSE apart of technology corps. to see for yourself what direction it went. You will be surprized. Unless of course you do not count blackberry job related communication work when you want to watch movie with your family or confenerence calls 2-4AM in the night with those guys working day shift in Bangalore.