Apple Can Bring Those Jobs Back

Apple's claim that it can't bring manufacturing jobs back to America rings false to Dan Lyons at The Daily Beast. "Apple says no, but of course it can: American workers build BMWs and Boeings, and they certainly could build all of an iPad’s components," Lyons writes. He talks to Clyde Prestowitz, a top trade negotiator under President Reagan, who says Apple has long benefited from American influence—and has "some responsibilities to the United States."

Apple sought help from US trade negotiators in the 1980s and later asked California for tax breaks, Prestowitz explains. Even now the US helps Apple by battling intellectual property pirates and protecting shipping lanes. Apple insists it is creating thousands of US jobs, but Lyons sees a deeper problem: "If we lose our expertise at making electronics components and fail to create jobs for engineers, over time we could become unable to compete." (But Apple is profiting: Its shares topped $500 today for the first time, the Guardian reports.)