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Paul Buchheit reports via Common Dreams
An emotional response to any criticism of the Apple Corporation might be anticipated from the users of the company's powerful, practical, popular, and entertaining devices. Accolades to the company and a healthy profit are certainly well-deserved. But much-despised should be the theft from taxpayers and the exploitation of workers and customers, all cloaked within the image of an organization that seems to work magic on our behalf.
1. Apple Took Years of Public Research, Integrated the Results, and Packaged it as Their Own
2. Even After Taking Our Research, Apple Does Everything in its Power to Avoid Taxes
3. Overcharging Customers
The manufacturing cost of a 16 GB iPhone 6 is about $200, and with marketing it comes to about $288. But without an expensive phone contract with Verizon, AT&T, or one of the other wireless carriers, the cost to the customer is at least $650.
4. Underpaying and Mistreating Employees
5. Apple Has Figured Out How to Spend Most of its Untaxed Money on Itself
Apple's View:
The tax-avoiding, research-appropriating, cost-escalating, wage-minimizing, self-enriching Apple Corporation has, according to CEO Tim Cook,[1] a very strong moral compass.
[1] Link in article redirects.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by wantkitteh on Wednesday May 20 2015, @08:59AM
In 2003, the documentary movie "The Corporation" was released. Well worth the watch, highly recommended. In one segment, the then-CEO of the world's largest commercial carpet manufacturer Ray Anderson talked about the ethics of using limited natural resources purely for short-term profit. I can't remember the book he'd read and was quoting from, but in that book it described that business model as "The Way of the Plunderer". That was 12 years ago. Must be about time for the moniker "plunderer" to come back into fashion, I guess.
Nice to see that the bleeding hearts are still holding Apple to some mystical set of double-standards while they give every other corporation that provides the products that enables them to live their lifestyles a free pass.