MRH

It's healthy as a society to maintain the dignity of all work. This demeaning attitude toward blue collar work was not nearly as common when I was young as it is now. That nonsense has been fostered over the years, I think intentionally as a way of justifying the hardships put on the working class as majority of good paying skilled jobs were moved out of the country. Working class people are still the backbone of this country. Young hard working men and women should be encouraged. They are important to this country and that is the truth.

I shouldn't act like I particularly trust Donald Trump, but I do like that he's standing up to China. 

quakerotis said:

Wesley_Hilliard said:

8thman said:

I have seen the statement about China’s “skilled labor”
several times but no one describes exactly what that means and is it only in regards to labor for Apple devices, or are these skills different. 

Also, I’d like to know more about Apple’s “Training Academy”. If you already written about it, please point me to it!

What are these mystery skills that Americans are unable to acquire. Is it the tediousness of small parts assembly that makes it unattractive? How much is automated??

An entire city worth of employees work at a factory where they work 12-14 hour days for three months at a time while living in factory housing away from their family. Not exactly something we're going to reproduce in the US. And no, automation isn't the solution, not in the short term.

Wes, you are exactly on target. If you are curious you will want to look at t5he Lowell experiment in the 19th century in Mass. 

or perhaps the Pullman era in Chicago.

In the words of Rocky. Squirrel, "that trick never works"

It seems we tend to glaze over the fact that China's government, and communist regimes in general, are oppressive. I think it's a mistake to believe that those workers live under those conditions because they particularly want to. Communists tell their workers where they will work and what the conditions will be. I'd say that China's status as a world power is founded on shaky foundations and Trump is standing up to them, doing what he can to call their bluff. That trick doesn't work on Chinese working class people either. American workers should be protected from having to compete against workers whose government oppresses them. The "fair price" of an iPhone should reflect the cost of ethical and dignified treatment of workers. As Americans, we've gotten used to fancy gadgets at cheap prices on the backs of Chinese workers.