If you read the latest on what is going on it looks like the Chinese government may just solve this problem for us. Not allowing importing or exporting of the iPad in China will go a long ways to fixing this.
The whole concept of a "Made in USA" campaign is flawed though. The base idea, (that it actually matters to the world economy or even to the local economies what country a thing is manufactured in), is deeply flawed.
It never ceases to amaze me how gung-ho super-capitalist the USA is *except* where it concerns the USA, when they immediately switch to the same protectionism they decry in other countries the other 90% of the time.
The movement of manufacturing jobs from older, Western developed economies to emergent economies in the rest of the world is both proper, efficient, and completely unavoidable. The failure is in the American Education system which produces bushels of dimwits only suitable for the kind of third world jobs that aren't available in North America anymore but who conversely require the wages of a much higher paying sector to live on.
The US job market and job seekers need to be smarter and better educated, not artificially propped up by government support so they can do slave labour work for CEO wages.
I agree with most of your points however I think for many Americans, including myself, it is not as much protectionism as it is pride in self sufficiency. I enjoyed building my own house with my own hands, restoring classic vehicles, etc. I would hate to see the US become a nation of ones and zeros incapable of building anything other than an app.
If you read the latest on what is going on it looks like the Chinese government may just solve this problem for us. Not allowing importing or exporting of the iPad in China will go a long ways to fixing this.
So if I beat you with a wooden stick instead of a crowbar, you have no right to complain because of how much better you have it? Come on.
That's an intentionally overblown comparison.
How about:
If you feed me rice instead of letting me starve to death, do I have a right to complain because it's not a balance meal?
Yes, there are better diets, and moving toward a better diet would be a "good thing". But don't criticize the guy feeding me when my other option is to starve.
Good for you Apple. It's nice to see a company that cares about fair trade. Maybe if Foxconn moved employees around every week to new places on the assembly line, they wouldn't get so bored.
Good for you Apple. It's nice to see a company that cares about fair trade. Maybe if Foxconn moved employees around every week to new places on the assembly line, they wouldn't get so bored.
Factories like this will rotate them around and find something their good at. It's unlikely they care if their employees are bored since they are easily replaceable.
Good for you Apple. It's nice to see a company that cares about fair trade. Maybe if Foxconn moved employees around every week to new places on the assembly line, they wouldn't get so bored.
Speaking of Timbits... I was watching the gal making breakfast sandwiches last week... somebody should let her change up every couple of hours. Wow... it would drive me nuts! Oh, wait...
One of my contractors was watching me do a job for him one day (forms creation on the computer). No more than a minute later he said he had to turn away. He said he could feel himself age as I worked.
The iHaters are going to hate hearing about this story. They were sure that iPads were being assembled in darkly lit, dusty rooms as the employees gasped for air. What sort of jackasses would think something like that. How could you possibly put out top-notch products with high quality control with those sort of conditions? Apple would at least be concerned about the product if not the assemblers. I swear, I worked in worse conditions in factories right in New York City and Long Island City with no air conditioning and toxic fumes in the summer and hardly any overtime. I'm not saying those Chinese employees don't deserve more, but that is definitely the life of any assembly line worker. Dull, tedious, mind-numbing part-after-part assembly. It's been claimed that women are perfect for that sort of job (I'm not saying it's true) It is definitely to be expected. Once you train an employee, you're not going to be switching them around to different tasks unless absolutely necessary. This is nothing new since the early Ford factory was churning out Model As or Ts or whatever. I can barely imagine how those Chinese workers felt when building the Great Wall, brick after g-damn brick.
But the iHaters gotta dick Apple for all employee abuse in China's factories. Good going, nincompoops.
So when is the FLA going to visit some American factories? I just left a factory job after 15 years. Part of the reason was that we had to work "mandatory" overtime. A few of us didn't like all the hours and had been asking for 40 hour weeks (typically we were working 50-55) for years only to be given the runaround. The week I gave my notice we were told on a Monday that "starting today" we were required to work 12 hours/day for 5 days then the next week for 6 days. So, one week 60 hours, the next week 72 hours, repeat.
The thing is, it's nothing new. At that company 60 hour weeks were standard when I first started. Some people there have 40+ years of seniority and say that's all they remember.
How come "forced" OT is alright here but not there? All I can think is the Chinese workers are being made to work OT but not being properly compensated.
Does anyone know?
Just make an emotionally manipulative radio play about it, spam the links on the internet, some blogs will pick it up, it will be retweeted on twitter and posted on facebook. Eventually bigger websites will pick it up, then media outlets such as CNN and NYT so they don't lose out on click rates. Apparently, we just found out a couple weeks ago that stuff is that actually made in China through such a radioplay, even though this has been the standard for the past few decades, and we were outraged. In a couple weeks it will be something new, some random new thing we need to be outraged out. I have a feeling sensationalism like 'slavery' etc won't fly as much over here, so it may be tougher to get the ball rolling.
Technology manufacturing plants are not Walmart plants, this is where people get confused and the media gets tons of attention poking at you.
In technology plants the parts and products are expensive and require the workers to have complete focus. I read somewhere that a rested factory employee has over 80% performance while an overworked employee has less than 30%. Foxconn knows this and they make sure their workers are rested, not because they're good guys, but because they need the performance and low error margins.
There are moments or periods of crunch time, just like the U.S. or any other country, where the employees have to put out, and that's where many of those alarmists gather their data. I too had to put 40 hrs straight here in the U.S. to meet a deadline, it happens, and it happens once every year or two.
Maybe if Foxconn moved employees around every week to new places on the assembly line, they wouldn't get so bored.
What makes assembly lines efficient is that it is the same worker doing the same thing over and over again. After a while, you'd expect that they get the hang of it and they become good at doing their simple task, and moving them around seems like a very bad idea and production would suffer from it.
If they're "bored", then they should maybe use their vast imagination to become a little less bored. Foxconn's main priority is to pump out devices for Apple, not to accommodate any "bored" workers.
Apple should sue all of the ignoramuses for libel, slander and they should be investigated for their pathetic attempts at illegal stock manipulation.
I found it interesting that the stock has been shooting up so much recently while all of these anti-Apple articles have been coming out, and now that this positive news comes out, it falls off a cliff, losing more than $15/share in less than an hour.
Apparently, we just found out a couple weeks ago that stuff is that actually made in China through such a radioplay, even though this has been the standard for the past few decades, and we were outraged.
Most people didn't just find out about it. They felt like it was a problem they couldn't solve. Finally a bunch of people started making a huge fuss and it caused more and more people to join in. This is how movements start. It's awfully stupid they are targeting the company putting in the most effort in to fixing it. People are more or less saying that they are paying attention to this now and that companies should be on watch and not screw up.
Apple should sue all of the ignoramuses for libel, slander and they should be investigated for their pathetic attempts at illegal stock manipulation.
I hope you realize Americans have the freedom of speech. This would severely hurt our rights. Do you even know what illegal stock manipulation constitutes?
So when is the FLA going to visit some American factories? I just left a factory job after 15 years. Part of the reason was that we had to work "mandatory" overtime. A few of us didn't like all the hours and had been asking for 40 hour weeks (typically we were working 50-55) for years only to be given the runaround. The week I gave my notice we were told on a Monday that "starting today" we were required to work 12 hours/day for 5 days then the next week for 6 days. So, one week 60 hours, the next week 72 hours, repeat.
The thing is, it's nothing new. At that company 60 hour weeks were standard when I first started. Some people there have 40+ years of seniority and say that's all they remember.
How come "forced" OT is alright here but not there? All I can think is the Chinese workers are being made to work OT but not being properly compensated.
Does anyone know?
I certainly don't know.
That's the problem with do-gooders. They want to cure all the problems around the world, but don't know diddly-squat about what's going on under their very own Pinocchio noses. It's like you say, if you don't like it, you leave. Not a perfect solution in a country where jobs are at a premium, though. If you complain about it, you're gonna get your ass fired or get the worst assignments possible. Factory work in America isn't that much better than work anywhere else in this world of money grubbers. I always say that the most expendable part in any factory is the worker. These do-gooders should realize that industrialized America was built on those very same principles. We just don't like to talk about it because it might soil our wonderful memories of the past. My dad worked in the Naval shipyards during WWII and he must have inhaled enough asbestos to line a few more steampipes. Just another day's work to earn some money to take care of the family. Nothing more.
Are you able to write a single post without all the hyperbole?
I believe that I've been able to write a few posts without any traces of hyperbole, but I do admit that it is difficult because I am a hyperbolic person.
Comments
Right. The jobs went to China. Problem solved.
If you read the latest on what is going on it looks like the Chinese government may just solve this problem for us. Not allowing importing or exporting of the iPad in China will go a long ways to fixing this.
The whole concept of a "Made in USA" campaign is flawed though. The base idea, (that it actually matters to the world economy or even to the local economies what country a thing is manufactured in), is deeply flawed.
It never ceases to amaze me how gung-ho super-capitalist the USA is *except* where it concerns the USA, when they immediately switch to the same protectionism they decry in other countries the other 90% of the time.
The movement of manufacturing jobs from older, Western developed economies to emergent economies in the rest of the world is both proper, efficient, and completely unavoidable. The failure is in the American Education system which produces bushels of dimwits only suitable for the kind of third world jobs that aren't available in North America anymore but who conversely require the wages of a much higher paying sector to live on.
The US job market and job seekers need to be smarter and better educated, not artificially propped up by government support so they can do slave labour work for CEO wages.
I agree with most of your points however I think for many Americans, including myself, it is not as much protectionism as it is pride in self sufficiency. I enjoyed building my own house with my own hands, restoring classic vehicles, etc. I would hate to see the US become a nation of ones and zeros incapable of building anything other than an app.
If you read the latest on what is going on it looks like the Chinese government may just solve this problem for us. Not allowing importing or exporting of the iPad in China will go a long ways to fixing this.
Actually, I don't think that will fix anything.
So if I beat you with a wooden stick instead of a crowbar, you have no right to complain because of how much better you have it? Come on.
That's an intentionally overblown comparison.
How about:
If you feed me rice instead of letting me starve to death, do I have a right to complain because it's not a balance meal?
Yes, there are better diets, and moving toward a better diet would be a "good thing". But don't criticize the guy feeding me when my other option is to starve.
- Jasen.
Good for you Apple. It's nice to see a company that cares about fair trade. Maybe if Foxconn moved employees around every week to new places on the assembly line, they wouldn't get so bored.
Factories like this will rotate them around and find something their good at. It's unlikely they care if their employees are bored since they are easily replaceable.
Good for you Apple. It's nice to see a company that cares about fair trade. Maybe if Foxconn moved employees around every week to new places on the assembly line, they wouldn't get so bored.
Speaking of Timbits... I was watching the gal making breakfast sandwiches last week... somebody should let her change up every couple of hours. Wow... it would drive me nuts! Oh, wait...
One of my contractors was watching me do a job for him one day (forms creation on the computer). No more than a minute later he said he had to turn away. He said he could feel himself age as I worked.
But the iHaters gotta dick Apple for all employee abuse in China's factories. Good going, nincompoops.
So when is the FLA going to visit some American factories? I just left a factory job after 15 years. Part of the reason was that we had to work "mandatory" overtime. A few of us didn't like all the hours and had been asking for 40 hour weeks (typically we were working 50-55) for years only to be given the runaround. The week I gave my notice we were told on a Monday that "starting today" we were required to work 12 hours/day for 5 days then the next week for 6 days. So, one week 60 hours, the next week 72 hours, repeat.
The thing is, it's nothing new. At that company 60 hour weeks were standard when I first started. Some people there have 40+ years of seniority and say that's all they remember.
How come "forced" OT is alright here but not there? All I can think is the Chinese workers are being made to work OT but not being properly compensated.
Does anyone know?
Just make an emotionally manipulative radio play about it, spam the links on the internet, some blogs will pick it up, it will be retweeted on twitter and posted on facebook. Eventually bigger websites will pick it up, then media outlets such as CNN and NYT so they don't lose out on click rates. Apparently, we just found out a couple weeks ago that stuff is that actually made in China through such a radioplay, even though this has been the standard for the past few decades, and we were outraged. In a couple weeks it will be something new, some random new thing we need to be outraged out. I have a feeling sensationalism like 'slavery' etc won't fly as much over here, so it may be tougher to get the ball rolling.
In technology plants the parts and products are expensive and require the workers to have complete focus. I read somewhere that a rested factory employee has over 80% performance while an overworked employee has less than 30%. Foxconn knows this and they make sure their workers are rested, not because they're good guys, but because they need the performance and low error margins.
There are moments or periods of crunch time, just like the U.S. or any other country, where the employees have to put out, and that's where many of those alarmists gather their data. I too had to put 40 hrs straight here in the U.S. to meet a deadline, it happens, and it happens once every year or two.
Maybe if Foxconn moved employees around every week to new places on the assembly line, they wouldn't get so bored.
What makes assembly lines efficient is that it is the same worker doing the same thing over and over again. After a while, you'd expect that they get the hang of it and they become good at doing their simple task, and moving them around seems like a very bad idea and production would suffer from it.
If they're "bored", then they should maybe use their vast imagination to become a little less bored. Foxconn's main priority is to pump out devices for Apple, not to accommodate any "bored" workers.
Apple should sue all of the ignoramuses for libel, slander and they should be investigated for their pathetic attempts at illegal stock manipulation.
I found it interesting that the stock has been shooting up so much recently while all of these anti-Apple articles have been coming out, and now that this positive news comes out, it falls off a cliff, losing more than $15/share in less than an hour.
I heard Apple kills a a pug puppy for every iDevice made.
What do you think happens after every xBox 360 leaves the factory?
Apparently, we just found out a couple weeks ago that stuff is that actually made in China through such a radioplay, even though this has been the standard for the past few decades, and we were outraged.
Most people didn't just find out about it. They felt like it was a problem they couldn't solve. Finally a bunch of people started making a huge fuss and it caused more and more people to join in. This is how movements start. It's awfully stupid they are targeting the company putting in the most effort in to fixing it. People are more or less saying that they are paying attention to this now and that companies should be on watch and not screw up.
Apple should sue all of the ignoramuses for libel, slander and they should be investigated for their pathetic attempts at illegal stock manipulation.
I hope you realize Americans have the freedom of speech. This would severely hurt our rights. Do you even know what illegal stock manipulation constitutes?
Apple was already doing the Right Thing?.....
Love it! I'll use with the appropriate attribution!
So when is the FLA going to visit some American factories? I just left a factory job after 15 years. Part of the reason was that we had to work "mandatory" overtime. A few of us didn't like all the hours and had been asking for 40 hour weeks (typically we were working 50-55) for years only to be given the runaround. The week I gave my notice we were told on a Monday that "starting today" we were required to work 12 hours/day for 5 days then the next week for 6 days. So, one week 60 hours, the next week 72 hours, repeat.
The thing is, it's nothing new. At that company 60 hour weeks were standard when I first started. Some people there have 40+ years of seniority and say that's all they remember.
How come "forced" OT is alright here but not there? All I can think is the Chinese workers are being made to work OT but not being properly compensated.
Does anyone know?
I certainly don't know.
That's the problem with do-gooders. They want to cure all the problems around the world, but don't know diddly-squat about what's going on under their very own Pinocchio noses. It's like you say, if you don't like it, you leave. Not a perfect solution in a country where jobs are at a premium, though. If you complain about it, you're gonna get your ass fired or get the worst assignments possible. Factory work in America isn't that much better than work anywhere else in this world of money grubbers. I always say that the most expendable part in any factory is the worker. These do-gooders should realize that industrialized America was built on those very same principles. We just don't like to talk about it because it might soil our wonderful memories of the past. My dad worked in the Naval shipyards during WWII and he must have inhaled enough asbestos to line a few more steampipes. Just another day's work to earn some money to take care of the family. Nothing more.
Are you able to write a single post without all the hyperbole?
I believe that I've been able to write a few posts without any traces of hyperbole, but I do admit that it is difficult because I am a hyperbolic person.
That is their own fault, as Americans have the leadership which they voted for. Change indeed.
Again, you're starting something that could derail the thread.
The reasons for America's unemployment problem as complex, bipartisan, and a long time coming. Please stick to the topic.