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[Pholus]

26. The NYTIMES quoted the increased price if they WERE manufactured here.

By all means, we should tariff "cheap labor" companies like this to within an inch of their business life....

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all

"It is hard to estimate how much more it would cost to build iPhones in the United States. However, various academics and manufacturing analysts estimate that because labor is such a small part of technology manufacturing, paying American wages would add up to $65 to each iPhone’s expense. Since Apple’s profits are often hundreds of dollars per phone, building domestically, in theory, would still give the company a healthy reward."

So since its like $15 to assemble in China, it's $80 to assemble in the U.S. Compared to "hundreds of dollars per phone" neither number breaks the bank as far as Apple is concerned. It's just a matter of GREED.

My biggest revelation in looking at the numbers in this article was that the cost of labor doesn't make this impossible to build in the U.S. -- it just doesn't give the astronomically high return needed to build $100 billion in unspent profits. If Apple had chosen to build in the U.S. they'd only have $75 billion or so sitting around.

And then Apple is sociopathic enough to try to blame the victim, saying U.S. workers no longer have the motivation or skills they seek. I guess that sounds a bit better than admitting they're greedy slimeballs.