What Apple CEO Tim Cook said was worse than what the original article implied
A fury erupted at Coffee Party USA over an article written by Matt Terzi of ReverbPress. It was thought that he struck Apple CEO Tim Cook below the belt. Really? Matt Terzi is a satirist as well as a serious writer. I have read some of his stuff and loved most. He dropped the ball on his article “Apple CEO Tim Cook: Americans Are Talentless And Taxes Are Dumb.”
To be clear, Apple’s Tim Cook did not say that at all. Terzi’s sentiment was right but the title killed anyone who wanted to look at the issues objectively. The real issues are offshoring/outsourcing, tax evasion, tax rates, and education.
Though the title was not a quote, many people don’t know the difference between a quote and an inference. Not only that, but Cook was putting the onus on the system and not on Americans in the aggregate when he said American workers did not have the vocational skills the Chinese have. It was an admonition of our current educational system. The title IMHO detracts from the real story.
For those who say the story is click bait, they are correct. But then again, click bait is what gets readers. Click bait is only bad if the bait is spoiled. In this case I think it was because many people clicked thinking that in effect Tim Cook dissed his own customers, Americans. Many likely wanted to confirm that ‘aberration’ that was not to be.
The reality is, Tim Cooks statements in the whole interview are worse than the article implies. He shows a tone deafness to what is really creating our economic problems, income and wealth disparity and more. His company plays a huge part in creating and continuing the problem.
Tim Cook is a plutocrat and an extractor of resources from America even as he refuses to employ massively here, or give back. Worse is his statement. He shows a lack of understanding of real economics most CEOs fail to realize.
The educational system fails because of corporations like his unwilling to be taxed so that said taxes can be reinvested into educating Americans, rebuilding infrastructure, and just giving Americans a living wage. Those Chinese acquired those skills from both investments by corporations who want cheap labor and a country that accepts it. Tim Cook’s company, Apple, and companies like his keep America’s government and structures underfunded even as they profit massively from our markets and the defense our powerful military provides them implicitly.
Tim Cook is right, the industrial economy is different than the internet economy. A lot more resources were needed in the industrial economy. Now the raw material is the mind. A lot of tax breaks to replenish capital expenditures are now unnecessary. As such, more taxes are in fact warranted for that transition. Capitalism has an aberration within that allows many to be rewarded much morse that the goods and services they’ve provided. Taxation is the only solution to mitigate that aberration.
Tim Cook does not see any of these things as a seemingly selfish Libertarian. Yet, one can be sure he will want America’s military to prevent those underwater high speed fiber cables from being tampered with or sabotaged. The original article should have explored much of these items IMHO.
The article, while posted by one of many Coffee Party USA posters, does not represent Coffee Party USA. It is is a freedom of speech issue. Some may infer what the author inferred. If one does not, that is what the comment section on Facebook is for irrespective of Facebook page. Personally I did not like the article because it could have used those same extracted statements to expand on the points I am making above.
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