FileMakerFeller

In Australia, "interest-free" schemes make their money by charging a fixed monthly fee for the duration of the loan. Technically, since it's a flat fee not correlated to the loan amount it doesn't count as interest - but that's a semantic difference, since it's possible to compare the amount of the monthly fee to the amount being borrowed to pay for the goods. And what do you know, if the loan isn't paid off according to schedule there's an interest rate charged that's basically the same as any other credit card but it gets back-dated to the start date of the loan.

This might mean Apple sees a dip in sales in Canada, but the upside is that people who can't afford to spend the money now have one less way to fool themselves into spending more than they should.

AppleInsider said:

Signed by over 80 civil society organizations and academics, the group believes "The UK could become the first liberal democracy to require the routine scanning of people's private chat messages, including chats that are secured by end-to-end encryption" if the bill becomes law. 

Wasn't the UK also the first liberal democracy to adopt the widespread use of video surveillance of public spaces? I doubt this argument will sway the thinking of the powers that be. The legal framework is such that the state grants rights to the citizens rather than the citizens grant rights to the state (which was the original purpose of the US constitution).

Yeah, but it only kills 99.9% of germs - what about that 0.1% that turn into unstoppable juggernaughts that will melt your brain?

/sarcasm

JP234 said:

michelb76 said:

designguybrown said:

Maybe Apple needs to reach out to the Employees who don't want to be herded into a pinko, anti-work, anti-ambition, anti-individualist-goal mob of under-achievers. There has never been a Union that didn't intimidate, bully, and otherwise isolate Workers who just wanted the status-quo and a chance to succeed on their own Merits within a typical corporate structure. If you want a place that over-values protections and brotherhood of the work-life balance (less than 20 hrs a week), join a WhoieFoods or commune. It is Your job as an Employee to find a company that matches your values, not to 'infiltrate' and bend companies to the whims of the tragically-malcontent. You need to fit into the World, the World doesn't need to fit around you.

You forgot to prefix your rant with 'in America', and replace 'the world' with 'America'. This is a very American problem. 
Union work well for both companies and workers in the more developed parts of the world.

Unions work just fine in America. The problem is corporations that see labor organization as a threat to their profits. And let's be real about it. It is a threat to their profits. But if their business model doesn't support paying their workers a sustainable, middle class wage (at least), then their business model is flawed and needs to change. American companies don't need to perpetuate a permanent underclass in order to benefit the shareholder class. They just want to. Instead of spending billions bribing politicians to prevent unionization, they should spend that money on the people who make the things they sell.

The Ayn Rand bullshit that designguybrown is touting is really tiresome. And ironic, in that he's also a tool being used by big business just like they use their human resources as disposable tools. And they don't have to pay him anything. He's drunk the Kool-Aid and likes it.

The determination of profit is not as cut and dried as most people think it is. Decisions about what is an expense and what is a capital allocation come down to the personal judgement of the accountant(s) preparing the figures. All decisions must be justifiable according to the GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), but accounting is not a science with a single correct answer.

If you want a much more factual assessment you need to engage the services of a forensic economist, spend an inordinate amount of time determining the upstream and downstream effects of all actions within the business, and then even more time digesting the report. Most of what we believe to be correct is folk tales and maintaining the status quo; thorough analysis reveals surprising results.

Look at what happened when the Ford Motor Company decided to adopt the 8-hour work day and the five-day work week: productivity soared and the company's rivals followed suit so as not to get left behind. Prior to that, the prevailing wisdom was that by paying employees as little as possible and working them as long as possible you were maximising your profits. One possibly unforeseen side effect was that by giving employees more money and more time, those employees turned into the best customers Ford had - able to drive long distances and demonstrate the vehicles to people who had yet to discover the benefits of owning a motor vehicle.

Trying to minimise your expenses is an absolutely worthwhile endeavour, but remember that the theoretical maximum impact you can make on your profits is the total of your expenses. Improving productivity and sales can improve your profits by much more than that - but it can involve more work and a longer payoff period, and current management incentives work against that scenario.

RudeBoyRudy said:

Still waiting for the proof that Apple employees are being abused.

The courts' findings show that abuse of the employees' right to unionise has been abused; there would have been numerous factual presentations that either were not challenged by Apple or were proven beyond reasonable doubt. Apple is appealing the ruling, that doesn't necessarily mean that the findings of fact are being challenged - it could be that Apple is appealing based on the application of the law or on procedural matters for the case. This article doesn't specify.

Previous allegations have been that employee belongings are being searched, that such searches are conducted outside the paid working hours of the employees concerned, and a number of other matters that I don't recall right now.

The proof has been presented to the legal machinery of the country AND FOUND TO BE VALID. Read the court proceedings to satisfy your own mind.