iPod Factories Called Into Question

[MGS4-SS]

My iPod could have been done by someone who earns less than $.25 a month, its still a good product and its mine.

[iconoclast]

Not really news. Cost of living people. This is China we are talking about!

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Not really news. Cost of living people. This is China we are talking about!

Yea... This is China so they should be forced to work extremly long hours and get paid dirt... After all, they are living in poverty we should exploit them!

Typical rhetoric spewed out by people I regard as idiots...

[michelonia]

I am a retired U.S. Military person living in Asia and I can tell you that it is not uncommon for a college educated teacher to have a starting salary of $100 a month. And on top of that those people live well on those incomes, based on their local lifestyle.

[+Warwagon MVC]

sounds like everything that walmart sells

[L3thal Veteran]

sounds like everything that walmart sells

:yes:

[iconoclast]

Yea... This is China so they should be forced to work extremly long hours and get paid dirt... After all, they are living in poverty we should exploit them!

Typical rhetoric spewed out by people I regard as idiots...

You're right. Everyone body in every country should be paid the exact same rate. I don't really know why we have so many types of currency. If we all just used one type there would be no more poverty!

I wish we could all be like you, buying only 100% American made products, never buying anything that might have been made overseas for less. :sleep:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&saf...ncy&btnG=Search

1 yuan = 0.124827 US Dollars. 50 US Dollars is in turn, 400.554367 yuan. Not too shabby by their standards.

[phantasmorph]

Am I missing something here?

Are these iPod concentration camps or something? Were the workers forced at gunpoint onto the assembly lines?

I'm as sorry as the next person that it's not a perfect world, but the fact of the matter is this is what happens in a nation with a population well over 1 billion people. A universal minimum wage would be great, but lets be honest here...you really think it would be enforced? Some people will do whatever they can to get whatever they can, and if they aren't willing, then there will be ten people waiting to take their place. That's life. It's not right, or fair, but that's how it is.

As an example, the lawn company that takes care of my yard charges me a set rate. Now, I can speculate that the hispanic gentlemen that come to mow my lawn...that can't speak english...I can speculate that they might not make an appropriate wage that is commensurate with the job they do. Have I enquired about this? Yes, several times, and I've switched lawn care companies twice due to the response I got. What happens? Different company sends over different hispanic gentlemen, unable to speak english, and the world keeps on turning.

That's life, and sometimes life just isn't fair. And the simple fact of the matter is, something is quite often better than nothing.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

You're right. Everyone body in every country should be paid the exact same rate. I don't really know why we have so many types of currency. If we all just used one type there would be no more poverty!

I wish we could all be like you, buying only 100% American made products, never buying anything that might have been made overseas for less. :sleep:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&saf...ncy&btnG=Search

1 yuan = 0.124827 US Dollars. 50 US Dollars is in turn, 400.554367 yuan. Not too shabby by their standards.

Good way to totally miss what i said...

American companies should pay the workers what is a livable wage in the region they are in. Don't go citing currency value differences because Japanese individuals make just as much, if not more, as we do and their currency is worth less than Chinas.

http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&...=utf-8&oe=utf-8

The simple and realistic point is we need to treat people outside of America with the same basic level of human rights as we do Americans inside America. And no i don't just pick up "Made in America" like some kind of zombie as "Made in America" dosen't mean it wasn't made by people who weren't robbed of even the most basic of human rights. As the last time i looked the last department of labor statistic said 50% of American garment shops, with the majority being in New York City, are sweatshops...

[hagjohn]

For a little less margin, they could give an American a good job. Just makes you sick to see how low companies will go, just to make a buck.

Ben and Jerry's is a good example of a company who cares and does a good job of giving good jobs and making profits.

[iconoclast]

Good way to totally miss what i said...

American companies should pay the workers what is a livable wage in the region they are in. Don't go citing currency value differences because Japanese individuals make just as much, if not more, as we do and their currency is worth less than Chinas.

http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&...=utf-8&oe=utf-8

The simple and realistic point is we need to treat people outside of America with the same basic level of human rights as we do Americans inside America. And no i don't just pick up "Made in America" like some kind of zombie as "Made in America" dosen't mean it wasn't made by people who weren't robbed of even the most basic of human rights. As the last time i looked the last department of labor statistic said 50% of American garment shops, with the majority being in New York City, are sweatshops...

The point is that 50$ (~420 yuan) a month is an excellent wage for anyone, especially a factory worker.

[jokeripa]

Where abouts is LongHua?

[iconoclast]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Lo...,88.242187&om=1

[Bitlocker]

My working company not allow employees to work more than 12 hr per day,but sometime force by boss to work on rest day due to customer demand.

Sometime we not only take care our-self,we also need to make our company get more profits,

I will happy when see my working company share price going up and also my boss give me

gift for performance successful !

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060612/sfm090.html?.v=55

[Echilon]

for all you know 50 dollars a month is a great job in the area they live, we have no clue what the standard of living is in that area, whether its good or bad, your comparing this to our salaries here which isn't apples to apples.

if you go to certain areas of the US you can buy a house for 100,000 that would cost 500,000 somewhere else, everything is relevent.

NOT TO MENTION how many other companies manufacture their goods in the same way, clothing, other electronics, etc. and if you recall its always the same story, ever take the 2 seconds to realize that maybe it isn't concidence that these pay rolls are so low? that instead thats just how it is over there?

Exactly. I'm sure they get paid about the same as everyone else doing the same job they do in China. Apple aren't the first company to use low paid workers in asia.

[evo0o]

$50 dollars a month is good for a factory worker!? Even people here in Singapore get at least $100-200 for manual labour.

Seriously if you think about it, we spend at least 10 dollars a day! How can 50 be even enough for a person for a MONTH.

[iconoclast]

Because. Things. Cost. Less. In. China!

[+LogicalApex MVC]

The point is that 50$ (~420 yuan) a month is an excellent wage for anyone, especially a factory worker.

I see... So next time you drive by, say, a Ford or Toyota factory i think you should stop in to tell the workers the $20+/h salaries they have are outragious and they should be making $50/day and see how well that goes over.

Your comment was too brainless to earn a educated reply as i fear it would only confuse you more.

[Dejon]

I see... So next time you drive by, say, a Ford or Toyota factory i think you should stop in to tell the workers the $20+/h salaries they have are outragious and they should be making $50/day and see how well that goes over.

Your comment was too brainless to earn a educated reply as i fear it would only confuse you more.

It's actually $50 a month.

[phantasmorph]

Because. Things. Cost. Less. In. China!

Quoted because frazell apparently didn't notice and would like to continue on insulting and berating anyone who doesn't agree with his flawed logic.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Quoted because frazell apparently didn't notice and would like to continue on insulting and berating anyone who doesn't agree with his flawed logic.

Ok then show me proof that the costs of living in China is less!

According to homefair.com's salary calculator if i were to move from my current home in Philadelphia, PA to Beijing, China and i made $30K a year here in Philly i would need to make $34K (in US dollars) a year there. So obviously the costs of living isn't 1/1000th of US living. If you guys want to keep pressing that illogical point back it up!

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/servlet/A...=726&toCity=233

[aero9]

50$ is too less, even by indian standards.

50$ is toooooo less.

[iconoclast]

I see... So next time you drive by, say, a Ford or Toyota factory i think you should stop in to tell the workers the $20+/h salaries they have are outrageous and they should be making $50/day and see how well that goes over.

Your comment was too brainless to earn a educated reply as i fear it would only confuse you more.

If they live in China, sure.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/HD01Cb05.html

In 2005, the per capita annual income of Chinese urban residents was 10,493 yuan, or $1,294 at the official exchange rate of 8.11 yuan to a dollar. The per capita annual income of rural residents was 3,255 yuan, or $401. In fact, in the rural interior, non-trade-related per capita GDP in 2005 was actually below overall per capita income, meaning that rural per capita income in region with no export trade had to be subsidized to the tune of $170 per capita, the gap between $401 and $231, or 47 cents a day..

They are making 50$ a month, which as I have stated, is about 400 yuan. 400*12 is 4800. according to the Asia Times, above, the mean income of rural residents, which these people are, is about 800 yuan less than what these workers are being paid.

Also, according to worldwatch.org http://www.worldwatch.org/node/3864

A survey by the China Academy of Social Sciences showed that in 2004, the wealthiest 10 percent of the population earned a per capita income of 13,332 yuan, 2.8 times higher than the national average, while the poorest 10 percent earned only 1,397 yuan, less than one-third the national average. Statistics from the United Nations Development Programme reveal a similar divide: the richest 20 percent of the population accounts for 50 percent of total consumption spending, while the poorest 20 percent accounts for only 4.7 percent.

Again, some simple math shows us that if ~1500 yuan is one third the national average (rounded by me to 1500 since the given figure is cited as being less than one third), we again arrive at a mean annual income of 4500, still less than the 4800 yuan these workers are earning.

So I reiterate my previous statement; I do not see the big deal here.

I'll let the research speak for itself before I use a worthless personal attack on one's education (I did, however, correct your spelling of "outrageous").

Edited June 17, 2006 by iconoclast

[supernova_00]

Must be nice to work 60 hours a week and get a day off...what the hell are they bitchin for? I work usually up to 84 hours a week and its my only job.

[Mx]

Must be nice to work 60 hours a week and get a day off...what the hell are they bitchin for? I work usually up to 84 hours a week and its my only job.

True but I am sure you get a lot more money per hour than them.