you people who can’t see the forest through the trees talking about the “poor” workers. Do you also think your grandparents were “slaves” because they got a dime a week for an allowance? Even though that dime bought a couple things at the 5 and Dime stores? Of course not. It WAS worth something…and the jobs in China are not ‘forced labor’ they are highly prized labor. In fact, you need a VISA to come from the farm to the city. TOO MANY PEOPLE want to come to the city!!!!
We all sit here and and say “this view would be so much nicer without all these damn homes” when the fact is …you WOULD’T EVEN BE THERE LOOKING at the view if it were uninhabited.
The idea that we should do what is “best for all” (except yourself) sounds great and be a martyr if you like. But what is actually best for ALL is for the economy to be buzzing along, and for Companies and the People (government) to work together…TOGETHER…to smooth out problems….and not focus on the perceived slights on the vocal tiny minorities that seem to control the majority.

The dissention always seems to be based on a All or Nothing argument – either it’s all in China or all here – and in either case all at slave wages.

As is says in the article the wage cost of a completed wafer is somewhere between 10 to 15 percent of cost for a semiconductor fab. Why? Because it’s so capital intensive and uses so much power.

And as for those 12 hours shifts – they are actually quite common here in the US. It’s called a 3/4 work week – 3 days on 4 days off – 4 days on 3 days off. Alot of people like that schedule.

Further, if you look at California in particular, it has a nearly 10 percent “Use Tax” on the purchase of capital equipment”. There was a credit against it that was allowed to expire right around the time we were having those rolling blackouts in the early 2000’s. Buy a $2,000,000 semiconductor tester and the state is standing there with their hand out for almost $200,000. Buy a dozen and you are talking about some serious money.

Finally, the state is rolling out solar power like carpet at 30 cents per kwh – all afternoon. While California is home to 70 percent of the nations solar panels it provides the state with only a fraction of 1 percent of it’s electricity.

Industry relies on affordable and readily available energy.

The average industrial rate in California according to “Electric power monthly” – a government website – is 10 cents per kwh. The average idustrial rate for every other state in the west is only 4 to 6 cents per kwh. That in some cases is a 100 percent green tax on the states power. And for some industrial concerns cost of power is a major cost consideration.

So after the billions spent on green bureaucrats, rebates, incentives, and buy backs, you could literally unplug every solar panel at 2pm on the 4th of July and NO ONE WOULD NOTICE.

Apple and some other corporations claim to be American based yet most of the workers who assemble their products live in other countries. Apple and it’s subsidiaries employ 10x’s more workers in China than in the United States. At tne end of December Apple has $97B in cash and 2/3’rds ($64B) is held offshore. They don’t pay any US taxes on their products assembled in China. An iPhone has about $190 in hardware and $10 in Chinese labor. Yet the US consumer pays on average $660 for the average iPhone.

So to evade US labor laws and environmental regulations – they offshore millions of US jobs overseas. promote slave labor, pay no US taxes on products manufactured in China then turn around and charge HUGE markups on their products to the American consumer.

Seems to me that a company that calls itself ‘American’ should show some loyalty to the American people, especially when U/E rates are so high. Otherwise they should incorporate in China.

You know how the game is played. Apple lobbyists buy off the politicians to get favorable tax breaks and other legislation for offshore production – basically screwing the ordinary American citizen. It’ll be a cold day in hell when I ever purchase an Apple product.

The solution is simple. Hit all Apple with a 100% tariffs on all products manufactured in China.

If you want to decry slavery, look closer to home. Americans pay 50% in taxes to a tyrannical centralized government that enslaves us all. We are taxed and micromanaged to death. And the government has run up $16 trillion in debt in our name, while debasing the dollar.

In China, in 30 years, the “slave wages” period of industrialization will be over with and everybody will be middle-class or better. In America, we’ll just be more enslaved. They won’t have government debt because they run surpluses and hold *our* government debt.

— John Seiler

China uses the slogan “Reform through labor”.

A few years back Germany used the slogan “Arbeit macht frei”.

In a practical sense, the two slogans are identical.

But American corporations like Apple are promoting the slave labor. So don’t just blame China.

If I were President I would slap a 100% tariff on Apple’s goods coming in from China – as a penalty for providing China with an unfair competitive economic advantage by outsourcing American jobs, promoting slave labor and destroying the world’s environment with untreated waste.

No, I’m not “another corporate-state right-winger.” I’m against all these crony capitalists like Buffett and Romney and Goldman Sachs, who manipulate the system. Reforming the system doesn’t work. The only way to help is to reduce or eliminate the system by sharply slashing government. Then there’s nothing to manipulate.

— John Seiler