Gene Munster: Timing of Apple production shift out of China is suspicious

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1. Should read “timing of Foxconn’s production shift out of China” Because, is Foxconn had not already said that they were taking steps to expand production outside China, you wouldn’t hear a peep about it.

   And people STILL think that there are factories that Apple owns in China, complete with Apple logos on the side.

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2. Munster is a long standing ass where, in this case, he’s attributing Apple’s success and popularity in polls that he took in China to the Party’s top-down directive instead of th teal cause: Apple’s inherent popularity.

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   1. People aren’t thinking anything. It’s just their gut reaction to dislike Apple for being a company that supposedly sells products to “exclusive” customers. So if someone in a Chinese factory that assembles Apple products, sneezes, well that’s Apple’s fault and not the factory owner’s fault. It’s just easier to hate Apple because it’s such a visible company. Mention Foxconn and it’s “an Apple iPhone factory” despite dozens of companies having products assembled there. Humans don’t really like to think as it’s just easier for them to react to their “feelings.” Heck, I buy nothing but Apple products and the company is starting to piss me off. Even I think Apple products should be more affordable to less affluent consumers.

      No sensible company should be isolating themselves against the consumer masses. To me, that’s just not good business. Apple prices have been steadily rising over the past few years and it’s really not helping Apple or Apple investors, at all. Apple needs to find some alternative revenue streams that don’t beat up on loyal customers. If Tim Cook thinks he can beat Mark Zuckerberg at anything, he’s crazy.

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3. Gene is off chasing butterflies again. Jobs said the jobs aren’t coming back because he knew Mr. Outsource-To-The Max Cook would make it so.

   https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/06/apple-moves-mac-pro-production-from-texas-to-china/

   Here’s the real story: Apple made itself rich in large part the way any multinational enriches itself: while its executives bask in the glory of the most expensive real estate on the planet, the labor required to build their widgets is pushed to the cheapest labor nations possible. While selling clean safe wonderful convenience messages to its first world consumers, these companies exploit the citizens of nations where there are pitiful labor and environmental laws and, usually, no democratic means for labor to improve the conditions in the communist or monarchy in which they were born. Certain economists will justify the exploitation of communist labor by democratic consumers by insisting that over time, the laborers with no voice in their government will eventually be rich enough to change (buy?) a better government. Meanwhile, sweat shop away! Other economists insist that all developing nations must go through all stages of bad mistakes in order to become a first world nation. Natural resources must all be used up or squandered for short term gain of the ruling class; pollution must continue unabated until the workers revolt. The Cuyahoga river burned, let’s see if we can pollute the Yangtse as much! If a nation has no electrical grid, then it is imperative that instead of distributed renewable sources, the nation must first build diesel and coal powerplants, then eventually natural gas, and perhaps later nuclear as long as the USA approves. Consumers of cours remain ignorant to the messes that their lifestyles cause for the labor classes around the world. Our favorite brands will greenwash away any guilt. As long as we can point to a company that is slightly worse than our favorite brand (now or at any point in history), then the dumb consumers’ consciences are clear and the US executive can continue to skim for himself hundreds, if not thousands of times the personal compensation compared to anyone else in their global enterprises, even people much more irreplaceable.

   The lower classes in the USA of course will shop at Wally World and then vote for the bully who promises that only he can get them better jobs than the zero-benefit, dead end jobs they currently have. As much as Trump, a guy who hypocritically buys Chinese steel for his buildings, Mexican labor for his resorts, and illegal foreign models for his wives, wants to make political hay out of his spat with China, companies like Apple are basically ignoring everything Trump says. Mac Pro production has been moved out of Austin, outsourced to Quanta Computer in Shanghai. Way to go with your MAGA campaign, Trump, you can spread the xenophobia. Care to tell us why it’s not working? Net flow of jobs isn’t changing, and US trade imbalance is sharply “worse” (by Trump’s own measurement system) than when Trump took office. US cash outflow to sustain its consumerist lifestyle was ~$40 billion in 2016, and is now over $50 billion. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/balance-of-trade Oh yeah, because 25% tariffs paid by US consumers doesn’t even come close to offsetting the wage difference. Maybe Trumpanzees should listen to real economists.

   Interesting tidbit: Apple’s Austin computer manufacturing site wasn’t owned or run by Apple. Apple never wants to get its hands dirty. Apple outsourced its 2013-2018 Trashcan to US computer maker Flex, which long ago found that Apple’s trashcan was a poor seller with major Apple design flaws. Flex makes computers for other companies including HP — another American company that MDN loves to hate. MDN has twisted its logic mightily. In one article Apple The Made-in-China Company is perfect, and then the next, it’s directly opposed MAGA propaganda is praising all things anti-China, then the next day a bunch of haterade aimed at US companies like HP or Intel – both of which are suppliers to Apple. The inconsistency matches the endless flip flopping of the least informed, least credible POTUS in modern history.

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