Apple holding more cash than USA

BBC: Apple holding more cash than USA

With all the kerfuffle over the debt ceiling, I thought this was an interesting observation.

 

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Why?

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Anyone who has bought an apple product recently should be made aware that they have been ripped off, that it was obvious to everyone else, and that they should wear a hat of shame.

 

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I'm sure that Apple are working on such an iHat as we speak.

 

Oooo I want an iHat

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Actually, I only own an iPod, and that was a gift, given to me nearly 6+ years ago. It only has 2 gb because that was as large as they got back then. I still use it though. It works great

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haha...

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It's not THAT interesting, but, still somewhat interesting. I wonder what Americans would think if they knew $0.55 cent they pay in federal tax goes to support the war machine?

I was thinking about this today. Let suppose you're a rich oligarch. Now, do you really give two craps about the little people on welfare or in retirement? No, they are pretty much useless human waste that can be discarded at will. Those in retirement are no longer productive and those on the dole probably weren't that productive anyway (some anyway). So, of course who cares if they go without. They've been used and spit out. Done and Done.

 

It's not true I say, because the government can always print up new money as they need it but Apple cannot.

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whats the point of this if you own 1 cent you are holding more chas than the us has

 

True, yet the cash in your hand is backed by the U.S.

What happens when the guarantor of the cash cannot back it up?

Fiat money is merely an agreed upon representation of a concept whereby the value assigned to the coins and bits of paper is determined by a multitude of factors to represent the exchange of goods and services.

The exchange of goods and services and the agreed upon value has been coming unraveled for some time now.

 

No they should only hang their head in shame if they purchased an imac or macbook and then downloaded the shitty Lion osx instead of using the tried and true snow leopard. Putting out a buggy, still in beta stage OS with ios features was dumb, as in dumbing down their own products. So yeah, they are making a whole lot of money on an anticipated OS that is a headache for a lot of people, kind of like a rip off. And its a download too, they didn't even have the decency to give a cd option, people spent up to four hours or more for the mother of all downloads.

 

hmm well i do have gold piece around here somewhere! and even 1 cent of fiat money is better then 14.5 trillion in fiat debt

 

That's a fact. Coins always have the value of their base metal or can at least be used as paperweights, lol....

 

Fuck it lets mob up a ram sack Apple.

 

you totally missed the point. I assume you suffer from Apply blindness.

 

I would be very surprised if any business viewed their customer base -current or potential - so irrationally. The poorer society gets, the more people are out of jobs and savings > spending. Thats not a positive scenario for any business, because even people on welfare or in retirements are "assets" to someone else. And in a society where children are moving back in with ageing parents due to housing problems or financial issues, the outlook becomes poor for the whole society.

Most successful business men recognise that social progress works to their benefit. For example, my lunch at uni used to consist of a sandwich costing Rs 4/- and tea costing Re 1/-. My pocket money [since I had a railway pass] was 5x5=25 plus 5 for "expenses". Now, kids pay Rs 100 for a KFC chicken zinger [almost 200 bucks for a chicken zinger burger meal] without batting an eyelash. Thats progress - it eliminated the little guy on the sandwich stand and the tea guy who operated under a tent in the back of the building. Now its a multinational corporation business - who is paying for that? How many retirees live on cheap junk food? How long can they still afford it?

Yes, very important point that most miss. That the value of money is not absolute. If the US dollar tanked, what would all that cash in Apple be worth?

 

I think some social businesses think A LITTLE about how their business and/or actions impact society. But, not that much. Many at the top of the food chain are so out of touch with reality they wouldn't have a clue. Hell, I know Joe-Blow Professors equally out of touch with "Education". They happily cut Anatomy from the Medical Program to save money. Seriously, they cut anatomy out of Medicine. :shrug: You think that arseface Jamie Dimon or Lloyd Blankfein give two shits about society? I seriously doubt it, or if they do, it'd be so warped from reality as to not matter. Hell, just the other day I was speaking to one of these types and he was of the mind that all roads should be tolled every couple kilometers... you know, to keep people from putting so much wear on them. The idea that the poor might be trapped in their small little neighborhood? He was of the mind: So What? (IOWs F-em)

THAT is how people at the top think about society.

Med Ss? What do THEY need Anatomy for?
:bugeye:

 

I've seen that kind of narrow minded approach in academia where they can't see the trees for the forest or vice versa. But perhaps you are right, that kind of cognitive dissonance is a reflection of people divorced from reality. But I cannot imagine any business which fails to pay attention to profit margins or customer base. Perhaps the kind of article given in the OP is representative of people failing to understand what a market means - they only pay attention to numbers, not people.

 

Like the metaphorical straw that breaks the camels back, I don't think businesses really think too much about society (at least not now a day's). Outsourcing their labor one by one, always assured there's more than enough costomers to maintain their base (at least until there's isn't - then it will be someone's fault, but never theirs). Perhaps in the past, people like Henry Ford may have thought about society (hell he paid spys to check on husbands and making sure they were with their wives and not out having fun) but now anymore. Oddly enough, people have a funny way of not perceiving the shit they just stepped in and then, for some reason, accepting it as normal as if their foot had always smelt that way

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IOWs, Rome isn't about to "Fall" but people are going to get used to a crappie lifestyle in the USA with less and less chance at mobility upwards.

Or so I think.... Joe would probably say I'm a crazy Libertarian and I should put all my eggs into the Obama basket, he'll save us!

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I don't expect businesses to think about society - I do however expect businesses to think about their business. If it is true that corporations are eliminating customers from consideration, this is a golden opportunity for customers to "take back" the business and revert to a system that does benefit them. Even corporations that outsource to Ethiopia depend on a currency that is stronger and a market where their profits are greater than their investments and costs. A chicken zinger of Rs 100 is still just $2 in the US after all and losing that difference in profit-costs will not be to the advantage of the business but of the consumer.

PS There aren't many Fords in India. But the British did buy the Hindustan Ambassador and the Tata Nano is coming out in Europe. What are the unemployed in Detroit doing?

 

Good question. Detroit is decimated. I know quite a few that are legally cultivating "medicinal" marijuana. Take that as an example. So, I used to go to this GP who was part of a HealthCare group in uptown. His business wasn't physically in uptown, but, he was affiliated with them. He was a decent GP. Anyway, I was driving past his offices a few months ago and I see he had painted over the part of his business sign that had the affiliation Logo. Presumably he's on his own now - independent (which is how he ran his business when I was a kid). Well, I wondered: Why? Then I see the additional crap sign on his office that says medicinal marijuana prescriptions $50 (additional $150 for a care giver license).

What a joke.

This GP and the State of MI are more than willing to dole out "Medical" marijuana licenses and scripts to the general public at the cost of that very same public ....all for a few shiny Fed coins. Sure, in time the whole society will collapse, but, whatever. Why worry about tomorrow when you can make a buck today.

Will marijuana cause society to collapse. No. But, it sure the hell isn't going to help either. Given the massive unemployment and depression in Detroit/MI getting high and getting by are the new norm. I know a LOT of pot heads that didn't used to get high ALL the time (once in a while for fun) who smoke all day now. I mean, all day. Between welfare and selling "Medical" marijuana they just about get by as their world implodes.

If your front-line GP is willing to dole out drug scripts just what do you suppose the people running BJ Morgan or GoldmanSux my Golden Balls is willing to sacrifice and/or get away with (Iraq war come to mind? 35000 wounded vets and thousands of dead Iraqis and Americans ring any bells?).

Don't expect much.


I suppose once American had conquered the world, the only thing left is to do now is to devour ourselves?

Interesting times

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I do like my 7 year old made in China iPod though

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