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Apple's U.S. Lobbying Spending Hits Record High as It Fights Antitrust Legislation
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I hope you know that a government in a democratic country is only a mirror of society and the people who elect it
So, is there anyone that really wants to see the iPhone as the last viable mass scale mobile technology that’s not Android? Are there folks that want that badly for Apple to maintain their market position primarily because the government SAYS it should be the default tech that everyone has access to?
The iPod is NOT a market leader anymore. That’s a good thing. The iPhone, at one point in the future, NOT being a market leader is ALSO a good thing. Because, it likely means something better’s come along.
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Anyone not happy with 30% isn’t going to be happy with 15%, 10%, 1%, heck, they won’t even be happy if they’re paid $10,000 a year because they feel they’re owed more.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, anyone that can’t run a business on a 70% cut simply can’t run a business.
There’s nothing about giving them more of that cut that’s going to make things any better for them!Partly true since it’s manipulated by the people in power. But in the end, people will eventually vote themselves into oblivion. Just look at our neighbors to the south, Venezuela. Freedom/Democracy is a fragile thing.
It helps the economy and everybody else is doing it and if they don't do it they're at a disadvantage and they usually have beneficial positions and the $ amount is not that much all things considered and if you don't get it you're the problem and ...
Lobbying is, unfortunately, a fact of life in a capitalistic society with the current rules. Good. Bad. Up to society to decide. I personally hate how it works. Basically you are buying votes. Apple does spend vastly less than other tech companies, but I still don't like any of it.
this is just more evidence that antitrust legislation is needed more than ever. apple is great on privacy but they need to be hit with anti trust laws hard
Lobbying is a fact of life, and not just in the US. Like it or not, it is protected under the first amendment. Not just corporations, but other NGOs such as the AARP and labor unions also lobby Congress.
I have no problem with lobbying, it's that apple can't be doing anything wrong cause others do it too. Aka whataboutism
It’s more evidence that maybe less antitrust legislation is needed. What’s that expression about only a hammer and everything looks like a nail?(or vice-versa or something like that)
Every country is trying to regulate and determine what Apple should be doing. It’s not across the board. My point is Apple getting ahead of it, and trying to come out on top. Especially since Google and other companies would probably follow suit.
No, it's not whataboutism. Apple has the same right as any other organization to lobby Congress. It is SCOTUS precedent that lobbying is protected under the first amendment. You may not like their position, but that isn't whataboutism. I don't particularly care for the NRA, but I respect their right to make their case same as anyone else.
The only way for this to change would be to elect members to Congress who will pass stricter laws, elect Presidents who will appoint SCOTUS justices to strike down the existing precedent, or pass a constitutional amendment making lobbying illegal.
In most countries, lobbying is called corruption.
If money can buy politics, then the people don’t own the country.
If money can buy politics, then the people don’t own the country.
It's a funny world.
It's a bit like me paying someone to improve the gun they are going to shoot me with!
I buy an Apple product, and some of the money I pay Apple for the product, is used to restrict my usage and options of the product I have purchased.
Honestly, in ANY country, I think this should all be illegal full stop.
No company should be able to bribe someone to bend/alter/adjust the law which governs others for their own financial gain.
Why anyone could ever consider this the right way things should be done just blows my mind.
It's a bit like me paying someone to improve the gun they are going to shoot me with!
I buy an Apple product, and some of the money I pay Apple for the product, is used to restrict my usage and options of the product I have purchased.
Honestly, in ANY country, I think this should all be illegal full stop.
No company should be able to bribe someone to bend/alter/adjust the law which governs others for their own financial gain.
Why anyone could ever consider this the right way things should be done just blows my mind.
If you don’t know how our ’con’gress actually works you are either very young; naïve or don’t get out much. Most of ’them’ enter middle class and leave as millionaires. There is a REASON they will do almost ANYTHING to stay at the trough. This is the way it ’works’. SCOTUS has said that ‘corps’ are people. Many from the EU countries are quite shocked at how blatant the ‘process’ really is…
Incorrect. His job is to make the company more money and increase share values for the investors.
Not play [can not say on this forum].
PS. Apologies for not saying that word, but anytime I do, the posts are deleted.
I come from one of the top 5 most corrupt countries as of 2022 (high up there with the likes of North Korea). It’s hell.
There’s maybe a reason to make it, in a way, kinda legalized and transparent-ish, contained locally, everybody knows where and how it happens… than the inevitable option of it being mostly secrecy, where some have an exaggerated advantage for having the right ties and know-who.
As nasty as it sounds and as much as I hate it, maybe they knew better, this might be the lesser of the two poisons. It does still requires money and knowing the process, but in a fully corrupt country a single company or individual can bend the whole thing their way while the others just didn’t get a chance at all.
Agreed, but good luck finding politicians that are willing to change a system that directly benefits them.
His job is to run the company in a legitimate way, so that it thrives. If that includes lobbying and speeches, do so be it. If you want to change things within apple because you don’t like the job TC does, as a shareholder there are procedures that can be followed.
They are a market leader precisely because things fit together nicely. When the government gets involved they’ll still be a market leader but things won’t fit together nicely.