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: 2) by sjames on Wednesday May 20 2015, @05:48PM
There are plenty of places where 5x BOM may be justifiable. It depends a lot on volume. However, the volume of consumer electronics gives a lot more units to amortize the development cost over.
(Score: 2) by Non Sequor on Wednesday May 20 2015, @07:13PM
Isn't a very large markup for retail distribution fairly common though? The phones are actually moved by retail infrastructure for the most part.
Write your congressman. Tell him he sucks.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday May 21 2015, @12:09AM
There is often a significant retail markup. Sometimes a truly crazy one (and perhaps it's time for people to realize just how much).
Of course, with Apple having it's own stores, it should be able to do better than that and still make a killing.