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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday May 20 2015, @05:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the let-the-fanboys-cry-foul dept.

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.

 
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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Leebert on Wednesday May 20 2015, @11:15AM

    by Leebert (3511) on Wednesday May 20 2015, @11:15AM (#185389)

    the legal requirement for a company to maximize its return to shareholders

    [citation needed]

    If you're referring to the fiduciary duties of the board members and officers of a company, that's not what "fiduciary duty" means. It means that your duty is to act in the interests of the shareholders or investors. That doesn't mean "profit over everything else". For example, consider the fiduciary duty of a manager of an "ethical" mutual fund: the fund manager's responsibility is to invest wisely within the confines of the fund's code of ethics (e.g., "don't own stock in companies that use underpaid labor").

    All "fiduciary duty" really means is that your job is to act faithfully on behalf of the party you represent. You're not in it to enrich yourself, you're not in it to pass inflated contracts to your cousin Clyde, etc. It's a *good* thing.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 20 2015, @01:50PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 20 2015, @01:50PM (#185458)

    To take it a step further lets say you run a company that has coal plants.

    It is in your fiduciary duty to make sure your company is not sued. That means giving funding for things like clean up and not polluting. If your company is sued because of lack of funding for programs in your company you failed at your fiduciary duty. Now being that 'fiduciary duty' is typically a contract with no real strings attached (other than being fired) many principals of a company do not act in the best interests of the company. They act in the best interests of their pocket book...