Posted on 01/19/2016 9:47:28 AM PST by Cringing Negativism Network
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump warned that he would force Apple, the U.S.'s most profitable company, to manufacture all of its products in the U.S. if he is elected president in November 2016.
Technology blog Gizmodo reports that during a speech at Liberty University in Virginia late Monday, the frontrunner for the GOP ticket said, "We're going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries."
Apple currently only manufactures its Mac Pro computers in the U.S., while most of its other products, including the iPhone, are made in China.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/19/trump-apple-should-build-their-damn-things-in-us.html
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
“Should” but it ain’t gonna happen.
Because that is ridiculous. Twice? Did you pull that out of your derriere? Have you seen the cost breakdown on iPhone production? Labor is an after thought. Even made in the USA I think they increase in cost is $50-100 bucks at the most.
Trump said those things should be illegal. But he can’t survive without doing it because his competition is doing it.
Just like you are forced to build things in China because you simply can’t compete with the sellouts who do.
I propose:
1. Mandate American standards for ALL goods sold in the USA. Overseas factories must be certified and regularly inspected at their own cost.
2. Give YUGE rewards for factory workers who blow the whistle on corrupt management avoiding those standards. Spread this FAR AND WIDE on social media.
Foxconn employees start at $306 per month with most going up to around $400 per month after 90 days of employment. If you consider that they get room and board on top of that, it is a pretty decent deal for China.
Nike should make their sneakers in the USA, if New Balance can make money making sneakers, Nike should...
He could build a portfolio in the US.
Well, using Donald Trump’s practices as a model...Apple could bring all the Chinese workers to America to do the work.
DONALD TRUMP (PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME) - GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.
“Labor is an after thought. “
Yes it is. It’s typically 7-10% more to have consumer electronics manufactured/assembled here in the USA based on everything I’ve read/experienced.
Stuff like the PCBs could be made here in the USA at almost the same cost as overseas ... almost all of that is automated these days (on second thought PCBs would still be cheaper in China due to supply chains, but not by much ... PCB component population is about the same price).
Labor per phone is tiny. By the time a person gets a hold of the parts kit that I am assuming is packed via automation, they pretty much need to snap some boards together and put the guts in a case. Other labor would be final testing and quality inspection. Given the volumes of iPhones sold, the labor cost per unit isn’t all that much be it China or the USA.
Phones are commodities though and you’ve got to master keeping costs at a minimum though regardless of the premium Apple charges per phone. Apple has the luxury of having a hell of a margin to exploit should the smartphone industry get as cutthroat as stuff like DRAM or televisions :-).
As some have pointed out, the supply chains are where the big savings are. Over time, the USA would adapt and have similar chains though.
One final note, Trump never said “force” Apple. The gooness that wrote this crafted the headline to trash Trump. Trump wants to make the business climate in the USA more friendly to manufacturing.
As far as people trashing Trump for not having specifics of a plan ... that’s certainly fair. However, a good executive lays out the vision and delegates the responsibilities of getting things done to experts. If the vision fails, he gets the blame. A plan from a politician on the campaign trail is absolutely worthless unless you are into bullet points and nothing more. I do have issues with Trump, but this “doesn’t lay out a plan” criticism is not one of them.
“Labor is an after thought. Even made in the USA I think they increase in cost is $50-100 bucks at the most.”
Well, maybe labor is an afterthought because they can pay Chinese workers slave wages, did you ever consider that? In America, they would be paying $18 an hour or more, plus standard union benefits.
That’s before we even begin to worry about higher taxes, costs associated with higher safety standards at the factory, costs associated with complying with our labor laws, and the associated costs of moving the manufacture of all the component parts over here too.
It takes 30 man hours to build a passenger car. I don’t know the exact figure for an iphone but I will guess it is 1 hour of labor. So the 50.00 dollar figure seems good to me.
[He could build a portfolio in the US.]
You really don’t know how real estate works.
Stick to what you know best, like chastising people because they are not bowing down before the altar of the Heavenly Being that is Cruz.
If the total increase in costs was only $50, then at least one company would be able to compete building phones in America, by saving on costs in some other area.
Not a single company has been able to do that, so obviously the increased costs are a lot more than that.
Trump's most noteworthy problem is that he is not for limited government. In fact, he is a great nationalist. So was George III.
You really don’t know how real estate works.
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Well, DONALD TRUMP (PEACE BE UPON HIM) does.
I think government forcing private company’s to build things has a lot more to do with Fascism than Capitalism.
No Trump.
Back up your supposition or back off. I just looked at something that said labor per hone in the US would be $4.00 per phone. I don't believe that but it isn't very much.
“Back up your supposition or back off.”
I already did, you just ignored my arguments. I’m not going to repeat myself.
Also, you don’t get to tell me to “back off” when YOU are the one replying to my post. You are free to back off anytime you want though.
Labor is not the cost savings of overseas production. The EPA mandates and government interference in factory design is.
The EPA rules on smoke coming out of a wood stove in America are to much higher standards than the breathing air in Chinese cities. The standards are on everything, from how much light on desks, the efficiency ratings on the electric motors and light bulbs, how the paper is made, how the trash cans are covered, what the carpets are made of, what is in the floor polish and the window cleaners. EVERY THING is regulated, and every regulation requires government paperwork and fees to prove compliance.
The reason manufacturing is done over seas has nothing to do with corporate labor costs and everything to do with Washington DC.
If all the regulations and fees and compliance was removed just from your paycheck, it would easily double. American industry was not taxed to death, it was regulated to death.
A simple example, you own a tree in your back yard you want to cut down because it might fall on your house. The good news is that it is worth 1000 dollars to sell it to a timber mill. The bad news is you need a 1000 dollar environmental impact statement to get permission to cut it down to sell. And a 100 bucks for the faller.
So you turn it into firewood, and commit a felony that is ignored.
Fascism sucks, I want America back.
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