Should You Feel Guilty Owning an iPhone?

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Given the nature of most readers on this site I can't possibly agree with this attention grabbing headline. The comments section is about to turn into an all out Apple bashing orgy from people who did not even bother to read the article.

Foxconn manufacturers products for dozens of companies. Dozens. Why single out a single product from a single company especially when you know how the readers on this site are going to react to a headline like that.
 
Problem with Apple is not only does it cost them so little to manufacture their branded products, they also charge significantly more purely because their customers are computer idiots.
 
Easy solution, setup tariffs so it costs American companies more to do business in foreign countries, and at the same time loosen some of the restrictions imposed in America that hinder profits, making hiring american workers more enticing. More Government restrictions are not the solution.
 
This seems a little more like a commentary then news??? You do bring up some interesting issues. For most of the history, we have had various forms of slavery. This is the case in China. Their government is their master as they have not improved their workers. This is not to disimular to people in our country trying to support a family on a minimum wage of $8.50. I believe the question really does come down to the issue of paid slavery and our confort with this model. My thoughts - -
 
Ironically I did feel a bit guilty after reading the Foxconn workers article. Although it's not going to make me leave my iPhone, it just reinforces the fact that every major company has a dark side to it.
 
[citation][nom]tayb[/nom]Given the nature of most readers on this site I can't possibly agree with this attention grabbing headline. The comments section is about to turn into an all out Apple bashing orgy from people who did not even bother to read the article. Foxconn manufacturers products for dozens of companies. Dozens. Why single out a single product from a single company especially when you know how the readers on this site are going to react to a headline like that.[/citation]

The reason Apple was picked out was probably for two reasons.

A) Apple is a household name. Everyone know what Apple devices are versus say Asus, which is mostly known by enthusiasts. Nearly everyone owns or has owned SOME type of Apple device (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Newton, etc.), so it tends to hit home harder to the uninformed.

B) If you put any Apple product in a headline, you are going to get more unique views and more page hits.


Also, more than an Apple vs Microsoft vs Google fanwar, I'm prepared to see people trying to argue that this sort of labor system is fine or something along those lines (like he's biased to one system or another).
 
In Texas we hire Mexicans to cut our lawn instead of US citizens...why? Because they do a better job? Not necessarily. They do it faster and for less $. Unfortunately its how the world is and we're all part of the system.
 
As a kid, I've always wondered why everything was made in china. Till this day, the working conditions have never changed. This world is all about making money by any means necessary. You would think that by now (2010) we would have figured out a way to commute without the need of a gas station or how to substitute man with machine in environments that are too hostile for human Labor to work in..But no.. "it's all about da benjamins baby" And Slavery for the price of a stamp is the way to go for these companies unfortunately.
 
The worst part about this is that the subpar working conditions are not used to create a cheaper price, but only higher profit margins for apple.
 


Because Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Dell, Intel, Walmart, and others aren't household names? Besides that, this is an enthusiast website. No one that reads this site is going to be confused on who or what Asus is.

A much more suitable headline for this article would have been "Should you feel guilty owning your shiny new gadget?"
 
Bring back jobs to the US, pay a little more, watch unemployment fall to 1%....profit?
 
Look, everyone who has seen my posts know I'm as anti-Apple as they come. That being said, no you should not feel guilty for owning an iPhone, iPod or iPad... at least, not for the reasons specified.

China and many of these Asian countries are in the middle of their economic/industrial revolution. They are morphing from subsistance farming to being players in the industrial game at the global scale. First, they start by producing things based on our designs. But it won't be long before they are producing things on their own designs and making significant contributions to the state of technology in the world (and improving their own standard of living.

Shenzhen, where the Foxconn factory is located, started out as a small fishing town in the 1980s. It has a population of about 70,000 and looked like a shanty town. Today, it has a population of over 8,000,000 and looks more like New York City. They people working in those factories aren't being marched in there at gun point, they are there to improve their lives. They'll work hard for a couple of years (during which time everything is paid for by the company), then take the sum total of their earnings home and start small businesses or families.

In time, their labor standards will also rise and they won't be so different from us. However, you can forget about bringing these jobs back to the US. Nobody here wants to work 12-hours/day, 7-days/week for $150/month. And nobody would buy (or could afford) products made here if the assembly workers were paid American wage minimums.
 
Is this a news site or a political debate site?
That's the way the world is. Any world, not just ours.
If it isn't like this, then it must be in heaven or hell.
 
I am not surprised, only through slave labor was the multinationals and those who run the financial system world wide were able to de-industrialize the US, Argentina, UK, and much of Europe (western) to establish a mercantile system called Globalization. In the end only two classes can exist that being the rich while the rest are poot and live as slaves to the elite. At this point in the game its systemic collapse to pun in place a global government but that is a few years to a decade off while in the mean time its another war with the US and the rest of the world in turmoil.

 
I'm trying to get my head around this article.. But the problem is Foxconn makes products for all sorts of electronics manufactures, not just Apple. Heck, I have several PC's with Foxconn motherboards.

So the question should be, "Should You Feel Guilty Owning An Electronic Device"

And no, I don't.
 
Forgetting for a moment that Apple was the headline target of the article and making it more company-generic, maybe the easiest question to start with is: *Do* you feel guilty about owning your shiny new high-tech gadget?

No.
 
To be honest, if we take all "made in China" product out of shelves... what do we have left? food?.. I am not even talking about "made in USA" only....

Even many of the rarely found "made in USA" products are arguablly 100% made and accembled in USA.

Though I am not rich enough to afford the "extra" price to have no "bvlood-stain" on everything I buy, I do aware that my life style do come with some cost from some poeple out there. It is sad... but it is the life I may have to live with.

Some people may said why should we care about the life from other countries (specially the one in the undeveloped countries)... in fact we should... because many of them are the reason why we can enjoy the quality of our life with our limited income.

The sad thing is... the workers pay the price for the jobs.. we custmors pay the price for the guilts... and the companies enjoy the money they get and celebrat it with their share holders... >_<

pretty sad... isn't it?
 
So if we do boycott these companies how does that really help exploited Chinese citizens? By no longer purchasing these products or Corporations moving their manufacturing locations, to say, India, it will only bring about layoffs within China that will only make the labor situation even worse, not better. This unfortunately requires more than just Corporate "morals" and requires more sweeping government changes within China that is not going to happen quickly or easily.
 
It is all relative wealth. If there was a company in the USA that offered to pay $250,000 a year for anyone with GED or better to work under the same conditions, people would fight to get and keep there job there.

Compare working in the hot sun in the fields from sun up to sun down EVERY day with NO pay to, MAYBE getting a little cash for any excess you MIGHT produce to working in an air-conditioned factory with days off and a steady pay... the factory wins hands down.
 
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