Trashing Apple

It was announced this week that Apple had overtaken Microsoft as America’s most successful tech company. At the same time, there’s been talk that the SEC is investigating Apple. It almost seems like the long knives have come out for Apple. JB’s latest two postings (in Briefs) support this theory. The attacks on Apple are coordinated and coming from all sides.

Reports of suicides at a single Chinese electronics factory that assembles consumer goods for the West are purely agenda driven.

The company, where my wife works in Chennai (India), edits legal briefs as well as academic material outsourced from the United States. The bulk of editors are paid Rs 13,000/month for 12-hour shifts, six days a week. Workers get a half hour (unpaid) break at noon. Most bring their own lunch because they can’t afford to buy the inferior product sold at the in-house company canteen. Many endure grueling (up to) three-hour one-way commutes for the mere privilege of working. Some do so to augment family incomes; some, to escape abusive relationships at home; some, to escape the heat; some, simply to pad their resumes.

Such is Asia – hugely overcrowded; hugely competitive – where a work is still precious. Most jobs amount to revolving doors; a stepping stone – a place to hang out until something better comes along. Not working adds to what is essentially a death sentence.

By the way, in Asia it is not uncommon to see a motorcycle with five riders. One is a woman; two are children under the age of seven. Only the man wears a helmet.

To focus strictly on Foxconn is disingenuous. It begs for another explanation. Pointing out that Foxconn is run by the third-richest man in Taiwan only exploits the class warfare issue for domestic consumption. After trashing housing, health care, automobiles, Big Oil, banking, pharma, etc… can technology be far behind?