Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'We Have a Moral Responsibility to Help Grow the Economy'

[centauratlas]

"increase the racial, gender, and geographic diversity of people"

How about diversity in things that matter? Who cares about skin color, eye color, gender, location etc? Those are all superficial. The thing that matters is the person.

As far as government being "less efficient" - when government is involved in controlling everything, it is no wonder it is less efficient! Large government means less freedom, small government means more freedom. When the government controls everything, then everything becomes political and one is just limited in the liberty they have.

 

[gnipgnop]

The largest segment of the U.S. economy is the consumer segment. That's the driver. Everyone else is in a supporting role, whether it be the government or the business sector.

 

[Supermacguy]

Apple makes so much money and has a huge stockpile of so much money. What might help the economy is to pay employees more. Employees with more money in their pocket spend it somewhere, which creates demand in other sectors. Apple's i-dont-even-know-how-many billions sitting in their bank account isn't stimulating the economy by sitting there, it's got to get out to be productive. That's one thing that could directly help.

 

[statik13]

I think he's a bit of a hypocrite but that does not invalidate global warming.
[doublepost=1504006867][/doublepost]Making apps is not a good long-term solution to anything. Bringing those manufacturing jobs to the US even if they result in higher prices and fewer workers in those factories is still a better choice for the economy as a whole. It leaves Apple in a position where they can stamp made in America on their products, and means they don't have to compromise their moral values or have their factories shut down. The whole "but there aren't any skilled workers in america!!1!1!" Line of reasoning is faulty. If there aren't, then bring Foxconn people over to train them.

Even if it means paying double or triple the price you to today? Training & labour costs are just one factor. You also have to consider the supply chain management, JIT manufacturing and lower setup/retooling costs, and that's assuming you've already got the factories built.

Besides, the "Made in America" stamp is a bit tarnished under the current administration. I wouldn't expect the rest of the world to put as much value in it as you do.

 

[gnipgnop]

As far as government being "less efficient" - when government is involved in controlling everything, it is no wonder it is less efficient! Large government means less freedom, small government means more freedom. When the government controls everything, then everything becomes political and one is just limited in the liberty they have.

Human nature is the same throughout the public sector and private sector. In other words, you're always going to be battling the same problems regardless. What people need to realize is that the purpose of democratic government is to serve the general population and provide a check/balance to the non-democratic private sector. If you have the democratic government acting as though it's simply an extension of the non-democratic private sector, then you're in big trouble. That's the start of fascism.
[doublepost=1504010791][/doublepost]

Apple makes so much money and has a huge stockpile of so much money. What might help the economy is to pay employees more. Employees with more money in their pocket spend it somewhere, which creates demand in other sectors. Apple's i-dont-even-know-how-many billions sitting in their bank account isn't stimulating the economy by sitting there, it's got to get out to be productive. That's one thing that could directly help.

Taxing capital gains at the same rate as income would also help. That increases the incentive for companies to actually spend $$ on their own employees and infrastructure and put that cash in to circulation rather than hoard profit.

 

[smallcoffee]

Even if it means paying double or triple the price you to today? Training & labour costs are just one factor. You also have to consider the supply chain management, JIT manufacturing and lower setup/retooling costs, and that's assuming you've already got the factories built.

Besides, the "Made in America" stamp is a bit tarnished under the current administration. I wouldn't expect the rest of the world to put as much value in it as you do.

It wouldn't mean 2-3x price.

And the Made in America stamp isn't tarnished under any administration unless the product is inferior. Thats just your Trump blinders.

 

[MarkB786]

Not sure it is a "moral" responsibility, but I do think it is a general responsibility for those in a position to do so.
[doublepost=1504012013][/doublepost]

Hmm. Over time I've become more convinced that government is incompetent at most things and that economic activity has always been driven by businesses and individuals.

Agree. Responsible actions by individuals, not the government, are keeping this nation afloat.
[doublepost=1504012167][/doublepost]

Apple makes so much money and has a huge stockpile of so much money. What might help the economy is to pay employees more. Employees with more money in their pocket spend it somewhere, which creates demand in other sectors. Apple's i-dont-even-know-how-many billions sitting in their bank account isn't stimulating the economy by sitting there, it's got to get out to be productive. That's one thing that could directly help.

Or pay more in dividends, which also distributes the cash.

 

[DevNull0]

Probably less than 1% of people breathing on this earth care about or need a new updated Mac mini in their lives. I don't think it's a priority.

At 1% it would be more than the number who want to allow transgendered biological males into public women's bathrooms. It would be a lot more than the number of Canadians who want to expunge our first Prime Minister from the history books.

Yet both of those seems to be major issues at the moment.

 

[barkomatic]

"The reality is that government, for a long period of time, has for whatever set of reasons become less functional and isn't working at the speed that it once was. And so it does fall, I think, not just on business but on all other areas of society to step up."

I wonder how long it would take for corporations to start taking over government functions -- rather than just heavily influence them as they do now.
[doublepost=1504012474][/doublepost]

At 1% it would be more than the number who want to allow transgendered biological males into public women's bathrooms. It would be a lot more than the number of Canadians who want to expunge our first Prime Minister from the history books.

Yet both of those seems to be major issues at the moment.

You mean transgendered women? Trans people use the bathrooms at my workplace all the time and it's not a problem at all. Of course, my workplace is generally populated by mature, thinking people so perhaps that's the secret to getting along.

 

[shk718]

I have said this before and I will repeat again: Tim Cook is running for president in the next election AND he is going to win. Write that down.

He certainly couldn't do worse than the mess we have now. I don't think he will - but it'd be awesome to have a high profile gay person run.

 

[iapplelove]

At 1% it would be more than the number who want to allow transgendered biological males into public women's bathrooms. It would be a lot more than the number of Canadians who want to expunge our first Prime Minister from the history books.

Yet both of those seems to be major issues at the moment.

You're comparing the gender debate to the Mac mini?

And I'm not Canadian so I'm not too privy on the PM issues.

 

[convergent]

This is kind of comical. Here we have an extreme liberal that has decided that its businesses that create jobs, not the government. Duh. And he reaches this conclusion right after 8 years of the most liberal president the country has ever seen. Of course its while the other side is in office that he comes up with this concept. Well if its genuine, happy to have you on the side of common sense for a change.

 

[statik13]

It wouldn't mean 2-3x price.

OK, in your judgement what would you estimate the increased costs be? 10 percent? 150 percent? 400 percent? Do you expect costs would be lower?

And the Made in America stamp isn't tarnished under any administration unless the product is inferior. Thats just your Trump blinders.

Nope, not blinders. Just paying attention to things that happen outside of the US.

 

[RogueWarrior65]

What a maroon. It's ALWAYS been the responsibility of the private sector to grow the economy. It's ALWAYS the responsibility of the government to get the hell out of the way.

 

[DevNull0]

You're comparing the gender debate to the Mac mini?

And I'm not Canadian so I'm not too privy on the PM issues.

I'm comparing the size of the issue vs how much attention it gets. I'm not taking a position on the moral significance.

 

[gpat]

I have said this before and I will repeat again: Tim Cook is running for president in the next election AND he is going to win. Write that down.

I'm all for it. America would get a better president, and Apple would get a better CEO instead of him.

 

[smallcoffee]

OK, in your judgement what would you estimate the increased costs be? 10 percent? 150 percent? 400 percent? Do you expect costs would be lower?

Most likely costs would remain the same or only go up slightly. Apple (and other companies) base the cost of their products on what consumers are willing to pay for the product. I bet a made in America by Americans iPhone would sell like hot cakes at twice the current price (especially since anybody with common sense finances the phone at 0% over 2 years). Automation would help maintain costs.

The idea that Americans can't cost compete with anything is a silly one, simply for the fact that we still manufacture cost-quality competitive products. As does Germany and Japan. There's simply no reason that phones and computers can't be cost competitive as well.

Nope, not blinders. Just paying attention to things that happen outside of the US.

Must not be paying very good attention then.

 

[HallStevenson]

So, were people scrutinizing his crotch area for the outline of a 'new' phone this time ?

 

[Phil in ocala]

This is hilarious for multiple reasons.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How about putting the factory on a very large boat then moving it to the city that has the cheapest labor costs..
I hear Houston would be a good place to go.

 

[stockscalper]

He didn't say who's economy. Of course he was talking about China's economy. Their facing a downturn and Timmy wants to help grow it

 

[mozumder]

I think we can all agree that America is a liberal where the majority of people that voted against Donald Trump in favor of Hillary Clinton.

Conservatives will always be the victimized minorities in this country. This is why their electoral college favorite is unable to pursue an agenda, with no legislative victories, even after controlling the legislative branch.

Their only job is to maintain the Obama economy.

 

[ksnell]

Nobody wants to pay more for US made products if the Chinese can produce it for cheaper.

How much more are YOU willing to pay for your iPhone? Because if it were all made in the US, it would double in price to about $1200.

This is the neoliberal world we live in. There's no turning back, and it's fine. This reduces inflation, which benefits the elderly and the poor the most, since they're dependent on commodity foreign products the most.

Americans will just have to find other sources of employment besides competing against the Chinese. If you are competing against a Chinese farmer, you have already lost. Americans have tremendous advantages over the Chinese farmer that they can leverage, including basic english skills. That's a huge advantage in a world where global commerce is done in english.

We all need to be thankful for neoliberal President Obama that the current economy is still growing under Trump. Let's continue to fight Trump's agenda in order to ensure it's continued growth.

The minute Trump finally gets to pass a piece of legislation, the economy will crash. We must ensure the Obama economy remains as-is. Fortunately, President Obama is powerful enough that his agenda continues under the weak Trump administration. President Obama's legacy will be that of America's most powerful president that rescued our economy and gave the people health-care.

Couldn't be more wrong. Obama's legacy is failed healthcare that was forced on the American people along with over-regulation that ground productivity to a halt.

And for what it's worth, I would buy an American made iPhone for a premium price.

 

[78Bandit]

The government has an obligation to facilitate infrastructure that will allow businesses to thrive. Things like education, transportation, communications, power, water & sewer, etc. The government has no obligation for creating those jobs, that is the duty of entrepreneurs and businesses who can rapidly create and adapt to the changing needs of the population. One can also argue the government has an obligation to ensure a level playing field between businesses, provide a basic level of safety and personal protection for the workers, and ensure fair trade conditions between us and other nations.

The government also has an obligation to take sufficient resources from the businesses and employees to facilitate that infrastructure (taxes). When the disparity between what is taken and what is used gets too great the economy of the nation will start to break down. You also have the issue of the government using its taxing authority to promote social justice or equalize wealth inequality.

Unfortunately the government doesn't work as efficiently as it used to because all the focus is on social justice and wealth transfer. Those issues, while certainly important to the generally limited number of individuals directly affected, do nothing to promote economic growth or job creation.

America as a whole is nowhere as competitive as it once was. Multitudes of parents are more concerned about Facebook and Instagram than they are about taking time to provide a good educational foundation for their kids. Those kids are growing up entitled and ignorant which brings down entire classes of students. Schools are graduating kids who can regurgitate what they need to pass a test but can't apply that knowledge effectively to real-life issues. They then enter the workforce totally unprepared to do productive work.

That is the problem. We as a society are more concerned about making sure one kid out of a hundred can express their gender fluidity than we are about ensuring they can be competitive in the global competitive economy.

 

[enzo thecat]

Sure is, isnt it?

America is a country that determines its president electorally. Donald Trump won in that very capacity, electorally, as has always been the case; the rules dont change impromptu, simply because you dont like the results or have unrelenting hatred for the candidate of opposition.

And boy, that sure looks like an AWFUL lot of red for an objectively liberal country, dont it? Its not unanimous I can easily concede that, but I can also concede we’re incredibly divisive and it isnt just because of one candidate and because of one election that some people still cant come to terms with the fact that its over, That happened back in November now. This is a development that has been occurring for some time dating way further back than this past election season. To think otherwise is imo completely ignorant to fact and one’s surroundings and general state of affairs.

California, one state mind you, is responsible for putting up almost a forth of the total electoral college votes for your beloved Hillary Clinton. Hmmm..

If California as a whole wants to secede and form their own Calexit, I say FANTASTIC! Go for it!

Love it... or leave it!

I like the Trump victory-by-county map even better.....

 

[mac_in_tosh]

If the economy isn't doing well, it's almost always due to government meddling.

I'm glad you included the word "almost." I'd hate to think what would happen if the banks and large corporations had complete sway over our economy (which they almost already do).