“Growing from a scrappy underdog to one of the biggest technology companies on the planet with a huge base of loyal fans, Apple Inc. is looking for even more friends — this time in Washington,” Jim Puzzanghera and David Sarno report for The Los Angeles Times.
“The company, with a market value greater than that of Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. or Hewlett-Packard Co., is increasingly evolving from a computer maker into a multi-product international powerhouse and a major force in the entertainment and publishing industries,” Puzzanghera and Sarno report. “But Apple’s aggressive exploitation of its immensely popular iPhone, iPad and sprawling online marketplace for music and digital applications has raised the eyebrows of regulators and lawmakers, who worry the company’s dominance might stifle competition.”
“Such complaints are leading Apple to become more engaged in Washington,” Puzzanghera and Sarno report. “Since its dramatic growth began in 2003 — the value of its shares has skyrocketed to more than $300 billion from $2.5 billion — the Cupertino, Calif., company has more than tripled its federal lobbying expenses to $1.6 million last year.”
“In February, the company boosted its forces by hiring the high-powered Washington lobbying firm of Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock. And Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has met with President Obama twice in the last five months, unusual forays into the political arena for the company’s co-founder,” Puzzanghera and Sarno report. “Those moves help Apple make its case to policymakers and regulators on issues that affect it, as well as help the company learn about potential problems and pending legislation before they become public. Still, Apple remains a surprisingly small-time player inside the Beltway.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Work the system or the system will work you.
[Attribution: The Mercury News. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]
no comment
I already hate this article — first line — ‘One of the biggest technology companies’
Ahem — let me clear my throat — it IS the biggest technology company in the world, not one of them.
Much as I enjoy Bill Maher, for two weeks in a row now on ‘Real Time’ he has said that General Electric is ‘the biggest corporation in America’. NO. It’s Exxon-Mobil (thanks to them jacking up gas prices every time Apple starts catching up to them) and APPLE at the top. What’s GE, like #5? Peh!
Another way of looking at it: sleeping with the Devil or the Mafia.
Apple seems to be transforming into all that we hate about the behemoths Microsoft and Google with it’s selfish fangs sunk into every legal and political orifice just to propagate its own agenda, good or bad.
How exactly is Apple becoming a Google or Microsoft? They refuse to saturate the market with their OS like Microsoft did. They design and build their own products and then stand behind them. There are other options if you don’t want Apple products. The only thing they are guilty of is making a superior product that people want. There was a time in this country when that wasn’t a crime
More “sky is falling” from the Dude with a Ph.D.?? How do you reach that conclusion from Apple spending a whopping $1.6M to protect itself through lobbying??? You appear to have some serious issues, Dude.
Guess they didn’t teach sarcasm where you’re from. Sorry to have confused you. I’ll speak more S L O W L Y.
It actually didn’t sound like sarcasm.
You suck.
Was that sarcasm?
I don’t believe that even he knows what he is thinking…
That’s the thing about sarcasm it really only works properly when spoken
lol, furious backpeddling.
How are things in No Credibility Land, Doc?
Fun to strike a nerve with you Apple blind followers. You all squeal like a stuck pig.
I smelt that @DrDudeTx, anonymous coward troll gas emitter!
You are just speaking L O U D L Y as far as I can tell. I’m sorry that I bothered to respond. Waste of time.
Don’t feed the troll.
On the purely technical side, it will be a lot cleaner and higher quality hardware and software environment.
For one, I see something has got to happen to all those anti-virus software companies.
Apple ought to contribute to Speaker Boehner. He’s got the useful idiots Obama and Reid wrapped around his pinky finger.
In fact, Obama’s such a useful idiot, the GOP might just let him have a second term. He can golf all the time and take vacations, and come back to rubber stamp the GOP’s changes for fiscal responsibility. It’s the same as having a Republican president, but better, since you can blame The Obama Dunce whenever you need to!
Boehner’s pulling the strings, playing the dummy Dems like a Stradivarius, and this country’s financial health will be the better for it when he’s done.
Apple should concentrate on getting in good with Boehner and the GOP.
Are you a comedy writer for SNL?
Perhaps you missed the news:
http://tinyurl.com/3eyphhl
Soooo.. the right wing wackos caved on helping women and can now strut and pretend “they” avoided a government shutdown and you grab your balls and strut your stuff?
Go home.
You should like an Obama voter, so it’s not surprising that you don’t get what just happened.
As if you have a clue?
Spare me.
10-1-10
the budget was REQUIRED to be done, Dems did nothing. no way republicans could stop it, they didnt have the balls to do one.
after the 10 elections, the Dems could have done a scorched earth budget to spite the republicans victory.
they didn’t.
you really should learn about government before you show your ignorance. (this was a Democrat problem 100%, they held the purse strings, they held ALL power. can’t blame the republicans for something they don’t have the power to do.)
this wouldn’t have been the first Gov shutdown, ask Carter…
as far as i’m concerned, i could care less if some parks worker didn’t get paid… but you damn well pay the soldiers.
As far as Planned parenthood, read the Hyde Amendment. Clinton signed it into law, all the republicans were trying to do is keep the Dems following the law.
Boehner caved, and he will pay for it.
I love how Reid would Gladly give money to fund an abortion clinic… but refused to pay our soldiers.
Priorities are wrong.
Government’s MAIN responsibility is to protect its citizens. Defense, and get out of the way of pretty much everything else. Leave it to the states as defined in the bill of rights.
Yet another SNL comedy writer…
To the brainless below me. The “snl writer” comeback.
I DARE you to find one part of my response above, that is inaccurate.
I only stated the facts that you don’t want to see.
Budget HAS to be done by oct 1st, the dems in control were to scared to pass one, the republicans could NOT do anything to stop them from passing one. They chose to pass, again.
The Democrats could have forced through a budget at one time, even given the extreme obstructionism practiced by the GOP. That was the tactic employed during the first four years of the Bush administration. They did not do it at first because they were seeking bipartisanship. They did not do it later because they waited too long and lacked the willpower and guts. But to blame it all on the Democrats is so incredibly nuts – what about the party of “cooperate, but do not compromise?” I suspect that describes you extremely well (except for the cooperate part).
All I can say is that I would absolutely love to see people like you protest against Boehner. Next to the Tea Partiers he looks sane and moderate, which is appears to be why you are disgusted with him.
With respect to the Bill of Rights, you must be referring to the Tenth Amendment – Powers of States and people. I support that part of your rant, although it is worth pointing out that many of the states have fulfilled their governmental functions very poorly indeed.
You just don’t seem to understand what a burden the GOP nearly unilaterally imposed on this nation during the Bush administration. Many thousands of people have dided and many times as many veterans and their families must now cope with terrible injuries for the rest of their lives because of the attack on Iraq that undermined and prolonged the justified offensive against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
There is not enough space on this forum to influence a psyche as ossified and circularly reinforced as yours appears to be. Good luck with your delusions.
How exactly is Boehner the puppet master?
The tea partiers demanded $100 billion in spending cuts with no compromises, the Republicans wanted $61 billion in cuts, and Democrats wanted $11 billion in cuts.
The final compromise was $41 billion in cuts with none of the controversial right wing policy changes attached (such as defunding planned parenthood.)
It sounds to me like Boehner was caught in the middle of a lot of contradicting interests and barely managed a compromise, a compromise that will aggravate tea partiers more than any other group.
blah, blah, blah, snuffle, snuffle, blah, blah…
crocodile tears..
blah, blah, blah, snuffle, snuffle, blah, blah…
crocodile tears..
better yet…shut up.
Dood, get a life. You sound like an idiot.
Yeah, if you say so. Even an idiot can see bulls**t when it is so evident.
I see you
OT PoliTard Time!
@D.C. Insider (anonymous):
You mean Boohoo Boehner? (;_;)
The only good thing I can say about Boehner is that at least he has demonstrated he has a conscience, unlike the multitude of psychopaths evident in the ‘CRAZIES’ fringe of the used-to-be ‘Republican’ party.
And no, I’m none too pleased with the wimpiness of the Democrats either. We have a massive leadership gap from all directions thanks to the rule of the Corporate Oligarchy. 😛
For a company Apple’s size and importance, $1.6 million for a presence in DC is very small. Trust me, the energy industry literally spends 1000x that, or more, trying to kill the EPA or fighting alternative energy legislation.
It’s a defensive maneuver. This article is written with a strongly negative slant, for example why say this:
“Apple’s aggressive exploitation”, why use the word “exploitation” with its strongly negative connotations?
And, then they write, “And Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has met with President Obama twice in the last five months, unusual forays into the political arena for the company’s co-founder,””
They put it out there, as if Steve sought meetings with Obama, when it was clear, Obama sought a meeting with Steve.
The usual tripe, passed off as journalism.
I agree that Apple is being for defensive in there spending and the meeting with Obama are more closely tied to the times rather than a desire by Apple to influence things.
Apple competes in the arena of ideas, not political influence.
Apple could fund every Senate and Congressional race in the 2012 cycle and still have cash left over. Time to buy the Legislative branch outright and put this country on track. All hail Julius Steveus.
Except that being illegal…
Apple is on Washington’s radar, not a good thing. Ask bill Gates about his time in Washington.
Sure we were glad to watch bill get reamed on a daily basis by every side in Washington… but unless MS was breaking Federal laws, he shouldnt have been there.
Apple isnt breaking federal laws, but they know that if they dont butter both sides of Washington’s bread… they will be on Capital Hill defending their right to even breath.
Sad reality.
Dont blame Apple for doing this, such BS that they DO have to though.
@D.C.Insider
The only thing you have going for you is a hatred and a longing to point fingers at things you have no idea what you are talking about.
It’s idiots like you who put this country in the position it’s in now, but you want to blame someone else for the problem.
And this makes you a Fool, a Troll, and a very sick sick individual..
What?
You make no sense.
All I said was simply that Apple would be better served if Steve Jobs was dining with the real man in charge, Speaker Boehner, not the Obama puppet.
Why waste time with the golfing puppet when you can talk directly with the master puppeteer?
Let me shed a tear for you whiny, crybaby, wooden headed puppeteer?
Get over yourself.
Really? D.C. Insider seems to be against both the GOP and Obama.
I’d say it’s partisans like you, who labour under the illusion that one party is good while the other is bad, that are responsible for putting the USA in the position it’s in now.
When each divided half of the population is comitted to ignoring the fact that their own side is just as corrupt as the other side, the whole country just keeps swirling down the toilet because it’s going to take the entire population coming together to fix the broken political system. Meanwhile, under the cover of this inane Dem vs Repub vs Liberal vs Conservative infighting, politicians are running amok.
And they will continue running amok indefinitely, because whenever anybody says “Democrats suck!” they’re shouted down by a vast crowd of partisans, and whenever anybody says ” Republicans suck!” they’re also shouted down by another vast crowd of partisans. Each party has enough unthinking minions willing to defend it that they can both get away with anything.
So thanks, thanks for being a part of the problem. Really. Thanks alot.
Waste of money Apple, ‘cuz didn’t Obama come into town riding his white horse saying IN HIS administration, there would be no dealing with lobbyists?!
Oh wait, lapse in judgement, it WAS Obama who said there would be no dealing with lobbyists, and like so many of his other stands, too numerous to mention here, his Colander-Leadership™ holds no water and you can watch another one of his promises go down the drain!
So Save Your Money Apple!
Every time I see Obama on TV flapping his big purple lips, I turn the channel ’cause I’m damn tired of being lied to by that rank amateur.
You want the people lying to you to be professionals, I get that.
Why don’t you take a nice vacation at Club GITMO, wiseass?
It’s still open for business! 😉
It takes a lot of time to shut down a torture facility when none of the states will accept the prisoners and you can’t find another country in the world to take all of them. I am so sorry that Obama has not succeeded in fixing yet another of the heinous problems that he inherited from Bush and Cheney. Obama was admittedly overly optimistic going into his administration. But he mistakenly assumed that the Congress would do at least a bit of its job at some point in the first two years after he was sworn in.
big purple lips? Really?
I’ve heard talk like that before. It was always with guys with swastikas tattooed on their necks talking about the “mud races”.
Don’t you have a cross to burn someplace?
Fact: Obama has big, purple lips. So, yes, really.
Facts are facts unless you’re a brain-dead, politically-correct Lib.
nazi f**ks say things like “big purple lips” hence you are a nazi f**k.
So why am I not surprised with your post and your petty rationale as justification for being a racist?
Sheesh.
Go post your stupid crap on stormfront.
It’s not that simple, but you probably are…
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/
The biggest electronics company in the world spends less money ‘lobbying’ politicians than the average New York area garbage collection company.
All I have to say is this…I love the superior products, and they’ve done a spectacular job with BSD. What I don’t love is the restrictions they put on their mobile devices.
“Our browser/rendering engine is the only one we’ll allow. Nothing else!”
“iTunes is the only source of music purchasing available on the device. Nothing else!”
The attitude along the lines of “if we have it already, we won’t allow anything else similar” is the reason the anti-trust mutterings are growing, which is exactly how Microsoft got into trouble. People want options on their iPhones (no, I’m not talking about Flash) for those that just don’t care for iTunes or Safari.
Leaving safari as only browser, yes there are others but they all use the safari engine if I remember right, does one thing.
Keeps the phone secure.
Let opera publish a browser that a hacker finds a way to root the iPhone, and apple can’t do anything to force you to upgrade the other browser to fix the holes.
People could use the browser in order to jailbreak, but it can also be used against you.
Apple doesn’t force you to upgrade safari, unless there is a iOS update, but they have more control over the iPhones security with just safari.
And IMO, I have zero problems with safari on iOS.
It’s apples decision, and I’m personally fine with it. I use firefox pretty much 100% outside of iOS, but safari works for me.
Then don’t buy Apple. Found your own company based on complete openness and good luck with that.
As far as I can tell, Apple has not engaged in any “anti-trust” activities. I have not seen anyone credibly establish that Apple even has a monopoly position. Until an “investigation” actually gets serious or a significant lawsuit is upheld, this is all just a bit too much excitement over nothing.
The political attacks on Apple are coming from several fronts:
1. Competitors like Microsoft and Goigle who spend vast amounts of money in lobbying. They are trying to influence liberals in Cingress and in the Department of Justice to attack Apple. If you can’t win in the marketplace, try to use Washington to wear down your competitors. Both companies spend infinitely more on lobbying than Appke’s paltry effort. They also use their army of PR firms to get journalists at liberal-friendly rags like the LA Times to do their bidding with slanted articles.
2. Unions. Having destroyed just about every other industry in the US economy, the thugs have their sights set on destroying Apple. Don’t believe me? Look mo further than to see the stunts their pension funds tried in the most recent Appke annual meeting. They want to shame Apple into allowing unions in their workforce so that they can destroy the company from within. They want to unionize white collar America, because they have destroyed almost every blue collar company.
There is a very nasty war being waged behind the headlines. And Washington is the new front line. Don’t believe what you read in the papers. You’re being played for a pawn.
How can the 7% of the population, which is the number of Unionised workers in the US, bring down Apple, or any other large company. Unions are just the scapegoat for Big companies who are cashing out or moving off-shore.
Look mo further than to see the stunts their pension funds tried in the most recent Appke annual meeting
You need to read more carefully. It was NOT a union (any union) who tried a ‘stunt’ at an annual meeting. It was some Pension Fund — an institution that invests money coming in from the participants (whoever they may be, in this case, workers belonging to some union), and some of those investments are in fact in AAPL. A pension fund has fiduciary responsibility to its trustees, and this particular pension fund was doing what they considered a responsible thing to their trustees — inquire about a succession plan for a company where they have significant investment. To extrapolate from this that some union was trying to force the company into unionising workers is just plain delusional.
Sadly, you are right on!
It will be the liberal/progressives who will lead America, and therefore, the rest of the world into literal slavery. How ironic the democrats have such a high proportion of the black voters within their ranks.
Well, it is a constant reminder to keep my eyes on the Lord.
Oh shut up. It’s 2011 and has religion done for the US? Kept your science education in the 1800s, persecute gays in the military, and let retards like Palin appeal to the lowest common denominator in political discourse. Superstition has no place in public policy.
I think I can safely guess who/what lurks behind your blog name.
The science to which you allude is not science at all; it is in fact a pseudo-science, that totally disrespect the scientific method. It is actually an anti-religion, well anti-God at any rate.
Where in the military are gays being persecuted? They have special status across the cultural spectrum.
If Palin was appealing to the lowest common denominator, she would have your vote, that is certain. She is so far above your level, she would have to sink to reach you.
You are right about one thing:It is 2011. Every day brings us closer to the 2nd coming and the judgment He brings with Him.
John, His Immenseness, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, intuits your wayward thoughts and pities you for them. Repent, while you still can.
You must be referring to the “other” one?
When the scientific method is applied to God and religion, no basis is found for the factual validity of either.
Psuedo-science, though? Oh hell, yeah! Psuedo-science can verify anything! God? Check. Banana trees growing on Mars? Check. A civilization of giant blue canary-people living under the Earth’s crust? Check.
I find a distressing number of theists actually have very little faith in their own professed beliefs, so it’s little surprise to me whenever one of them dismisses real science as mumbo-jumbo while heralding psuedo-science as valid just because it can be used to arrive at a “definitive conclusion” that God exists. News flash: If you had real faith, you wouldn’t need any validition from science for your beliefs.
Imma bet that behind your facade, you’re just as doubtful as I am that Insert Deity Here is going to have a second coming and judge us all. Imma bet you reflect about the other times throughout history, spanning innumerable cultures and religions, when this very same event was supposed to happen and never did, ask yourself how this time is any different, and draw a blank.
And that drives you crazy. Or just makes you laugh because you’re an RNC shill and all this religious talk is nothing but an attempt to pander to the Christian demo. One of those two.
We will be just fine as long as you keep your Lord out of our government.
Yes, it is plain for all to see just how well you are doing, with the Lord out of your government.
This is much ado about nothing. Apple doesn’t have a monopoly share of any market at all. Maybe digital music sales, but if them being DRM-free, its a non starter.
It is obvious by your reply and the replies of “His Shadow”, 8^; and kingmel, apparently none of whom have Christian names, that there is a serious lack of reading comprehension skills by some people on this blog.
I made a personal comment at the close of my reply to Ed Anger to indicate my confidence was in God and not the leaders of men. I am accused of repressing science, somehow gay rights issues were introduced, and of course Sarah Palin is brought in for a fresh bashing and I am accused of believing in superstition. Needless to say, we are way off topic, for which I feel I am responsible, for which I do apologize.
But since there is such strong reaction to my reference to God, I will close with 2 Scripture references for those who have the inclination and with access to a Bible. This will end my intercourse with those mentioned above.
1st Corinthians 2:14 and John 15:23
MDN,
Are you proud of what you’ve become?
Nicely put.
Kids, the entire philosophy of Apple is contrary to the customer-hating-and-parasitizing bad attitude of theCorporate Oligarchy. As long as Apple stick to their guns, they’ll stay outside the dumbass forces of the Company Clowns who run the government these days.
If anything, the Corporate Oligarchy would love to gang up on Apple for showing off how seriously superior they are in nearly all respects. Mediocrity despises a showoff. Thus the phenomenon of trolling.
Ya hear that trolls! You’re fracking mediocre! We cry for you and laugh at you at the same time.
(;_^)
BooHaha.
In order for the wiser words of Apple to be clear in government, they have to hire voices to speak for them in this HIGHLY DEMENTED age of Government-By-Money.
(0_o)
Ah, but Apple DO have a monopoly on:
INNOVATION!
And the Corporate Oligarchy is so frickin’ in-bred and stupid that they cannot put up with any company being quality oriented. Apple are merely providing a boot-to-the-balls of the morons who’d rather sell us all crapware ad nauseam.
I’m talking at you Microsoft, Adobe, Sony, Google, RIAA, MPAA, blahblahblah…
Well, this string certainly went full spectrum.
The last sentence is really the crux of the argument. “Still, Apple remains a surprisingly small-time player inside the Beltway.”
The truth is that while they tripled spending, Apple spends very little for lobbying.