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Trump Says He's Going To 'Get Apple To Build a Big Plant In the United States' (arstechnica.com)
In a Tuesday interview with The New York Times, President-elect Donald Trump said that he would incentivize Apple to "build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States." Ars Technica reports: Trump indicated to columnist Thomas Friedman that he is going to double-down on bringing factory jobs back to America, especially in the Rust Belt from Michigan to Pennsylvania.
FRIEDMAN: Are you worried, though, that those companies will keep their factories here, but the jobs will be replaced by robots?
TRUMP: They will, and we'll make the robots, too. [laughter]
TRUMP: It's a big thing, we'll make the robots, too. Right now we don't make the robots. We don't make anything. But we're going to. I mean, look, robotics is becoming very big and we're going to do that. We're going to have more factories. We can't lose 70,000 factories. Just can't do it. We're going to start making things.
Trump continued, saying that he had received a call from Apple CEO Tim Cook. As the president-elect recounted: "...and I said, 'Tim, you know, one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you're making your product right here.' He said, 'I understand that.' I said: 'I think we'll create the incentives for you, and I think you're going to do it. We're going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you'll be happy about.' But we're going for big tax cuts, we have to get rid of regulations, regulations are making it impossible. Whether you're liberal or conservative, I mean, I could sit down and show you regulations that anybody would agree are ridiculous. It's gotten to be a free-for-all. And companies can't, they can't even start up, they can't expand, they're choking." A report from Nikkei last week said that Apple is exploring the idea of making iPhones in the United States, but the company has realized that it will cost more than double to make the shiny new gadgets at home.
FRIEDMAN: Are you worried, though, that those companies will keep their factories here, but the jobs will be replaced by robots?
TRUMP: They will, and we'll make the robots, too. [laughter]
TRUMP: It's a big thing, we'll make the robots, too. Right now we don't make the robots. We don't make anything. But we're going to. I mean, look, robotics is becoming very big and we're going to do that. We're going to have more factories. We can't lose 70,000 factories. Just can't do it. We're going to start making things.
Trump continued, saying that he had received a call from Apple CEO Tim Cook. As the president-elect recounted: "...and I said, 'Tim, you know, one of the things that will be a real achievement for me is when I get Apple to build a big plant in the United States, or many big plants in the United States, where instead of going to China, and going to Vietnam, and going to the places that you go to, you're making your product right here.' He said, 'I understand that.' I said: 'I think we'll create the incentives for you, and I think you're going to do it. We're going for a very large tax cut for corporations, which you'll be happy about.' But we're going for big tax cuts, we have to get rid of regulations, regulations are making it impossible. Whether you're liberal or conservative, I mean, I could sit down and show you regulations that anybody would agree are ridiculous. It's gotten to be a free-for-all. And companies can't, they can't even start up, they can't expand, they're choking." A report from Nikkei last week said that Apple is exploring the idea of making iPhones in the United States, but the company has realized that it will cost more than double to make the shiny new gadgets at home.
Trump is a brilliant improviser. One way to redirect criticism is to accept the criticism, and spin it as though it agreed with you. I actually took a course on collaboration in a corporate environment that talks about this. Their idea was not to use it to spin things though, but to keep people open to ideas. Instead of saying "no, you are wrong because" you say "yes, and..." elaborate on how you will address the problem. Trump takes this to the next level.
Trump: "I'm going to build a wall"
The world: "That's ridiculous, that will cost 5 billions of dollars!"
Trump: "My wall idea is soo ridiculous, it will cost 10 billion dollars!"
The world: "We can't afford that."
Trump: "So I'll have somebody else pay for it!"
Trump: "I'm going to build iPhones in America."
The world: "That will cost too much."
Trump: "Yeah! They will cost so much that we will have to construct robots to build the phones!"
The world: "But if robots build them, that won't employ workers."
Trump: "My robots will be so awesome that they will cook breakfast for the workers!"
Sometimes I want him to say "Because I'm Donald Trump, bitch" in the same voice that Dave Chapelle used when he said "'Cuz I'm Rick James, bitch!"
Irony: One reason you can build iPhones cheaply in China is because Chinese workers don't get the kinds of protections and rights that US workers do. That was part of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP): to raise the worker protections in China to level the playing field. Trump is doing the opposite. He says regulations will be removed in the US. So instead of raising worker protections for Chinese workers, it sounds like he is going to remove protections from US workers. And ironically, the blue-collar workers voted for this.
Regulations are not created by some evil Liberul cabal in Berkeley that sits around smoking weed and drinking espressos
Right, it's in DC, not Berkley. And it's coke, not weed.
BUT, any tax cuts means revenues will have to be made up somewhere else
If companies make more money and higher more people and Apple and other companies are bringing back a ton of overseas cash why Is overall intake of tax revenue not higher? *doe eyes*
I bet Trump's imagined wealth that this will in fact happen.
If Trump's weather is so imaginary, why are so many liberals concerned about the real estate he owns all over the world as a conflict of interest? How many overseas properties do you own again? *doe eyes*
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
A service based economy cannot survive in the long run. You must create/produce something of value.
Fortunately, US manufacturing output is at an all-time high. The value added by U.S. factories is more than $2 trillion a year, equal to the next three countries (Japan, Germany and South Korea) combined.
You can do so by having the government subsidize the workers through medicare for all, food stamps and matching salary grants for interns. Germany is a high income society but it manages to keep manufacturing at home because the corporations do not pay a living wage to apprentices. Instead the govt covers them with free medical care, free college, matching grants during apprenticeship and low rents (Germany keeps rents low via forced renting. You are not allowed to keep a house empty in Germany and high transfer taxes. This makes sure Real estate stays cheap). With low rent, no college debt, on the job training paid partly by the employer and partly by the govt, free medicare and subsidized food people can live on lower salaries. Yes this needs higher taxes on profits but it makes sure the profits are made in Germany instead of abroad.
**Life is too short to be serious**
The one thing that the "liberals" forget is that the rich aren't people. They are corporations. So if you eliminate corporate tax, you eliminate tax on the rich. They incorporate, and pay nothing. Personal tax will be paid, to the minimum amount required, but a corporate tax cut increases taxes on the poor and cuts taxes on the rich.
Learn to love Alaska
I agree with you. I'd pay a premium to have a US built product. Add Harley Davidson to the list, BTW.
I once proposed the same to Meg Whitman several years ago. My response: No response.
I believe this is why she was siding with Hillary.
HP has more jobs in India than it has in the US.
Disclaimer: I voted for neither candidate so save your wind.