Why America Doesn't Need More Tech Giants Like Apple 631
Hugh Pickens writes "Optimists says that if only America produced more companies like Apple and Amazon and Google and Facebook, the country's economic problems would be fixed — America could retrain its vast, idle construction-and-manufacturing workforce, and our unemployment and inequality problems would be solved. But Apple's $1 billion new data center in North Carolina has been a disappointing development for many residents, who can't comprehend how expensive facilities stretching across hundreds of acres can create only 50 new jobs, especially after thousands of positions in the region have been lost to cheaper foreign competition. In fact, Apple actually exemplifies some of the reasons why the U.S. has such huge unemployment and inequality problems: 'Digital' businesses like Apple employ far fewer people than traditional manufacturing businesses, Apple's 60,000+ jobs are not just in the U.S. — they're spread around the world. Companies like Apple 'create amazing products and vast shareholder wealth, but they don't spread this wealth around as much as earlier industrial giants did,' writes Henry Blodget. 'So, yes, we should celebrate the success of Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. But we shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking they're going to solve our unemployment or inequality problems.'"
Re:Time for... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Need (Score:5, Funny)
What we need is small, independent, companies competing directly in the same way Linux distros compete with each other.
Aggressive flamewars on slashdot and mailing lists? I'm not seeing that work.
Re:I don't see the problem (Score:3, Funny)
There's a limit to how much gay porn you need. Even for Apple.
Re:small vs. large businesses (Score:5, Funny)
Apple and HP both started in a garage in silicon valley.
And HP has recently announced they're moving back to their garage.
Re:Traditional Manufacturing Businesses (Score:2, Funny)
Re:America is not a country (Score:4, Funny)
No, America is TWO continents.
NORTH America is a continent.
Re:Americans (Score:3, Funny)
Funny thing about Germans is most of them speak at least passable english, unlike the U.S.