Your iPhone Was Built by 13 Year-Olds Working 16 Hours a day

Reply 1: Yeah, also in local Chinese news, people are protesting in the streets for increased wages and working conditions even though they know that only a few in society will get them and the rest will be fired...and this will be short lived before the jobs start going oversees from China and they have nothing but good labor laws and everyone has to work in the service industry that will slowly fade as no one can afford service but forgot how to farm.

Reply 2: Yeah, also in local Chinese new, families rejoice as the working days at Apple have been reduced to 16 Hours and working age is raised to 13.

Reply 3: How else do you think you can train people to build a skyscraper in 15 days?

This is up to them not us. That is why they are another country. We may demand it, but that same demand exists and we don't follow the same pattern, we decided it would be better if we have laws against this stuff and knowing that others don't that we would have lower employment and more of an import imbalance, but we decided in no uncertain terms, it was worth it. We also did not pass judgement on China as a country because we let them import these items into our country will liitle consequence. If we feel guilty about or demand, but cannot change Chinese laws we could either personally do something (if you own an Iphone or buy chinese) or get our govt to do something via tarriffs.

To be honest with you, I feel worse for the Chinese kid that has to put the little radioactive elements 16 hours a day in your smoke detectors so that your kids can be safe vs. the Iphone kids. Think if his health later in life. I bet that kid is younger though, no thinking 13 year old Chinese person would take that job when they can put together Iphones, right?

I'm ok with 13 year olds working in China- their little fingers can reach into places where a 25 year old can not. Also- a 13 year old will last a few more years on the assembly line before they get carpal tunnel and wind up all crippled up. Today's mini electronics are much smaller - so smaller fingers work better.

Look- we are looking at this from the wrong perspective. The same standards that Americans use is not anywhere close to the world standard. The Chinese see us as spoiled brats, and compared to the rest of the world- we are spoiled.

That typical 13 year old probably grew up in the countryside- only knowing a much lower standard of living. The family needs the income - that's why they send their kids to the city and get work in a factory. Even at 40 cents per hour, the rising Chinese standard of living is the fastest in the world.

It used to be that way here too- it was called the industrial revolution- we used to be those hard workers toiling away in a factory. It's how we raised our standard of living and built the most powerful economic engine in the world- it's how Americans became the richest people in the world.

We now look at them aghast. We are just that arrogant- full of ourselves- expecting the world to be as spoiled as we have become. We are so ludicrous!

There's a reason why the Chinese have trillions IN THE BANK- and Americans are trillions in debt. They are willing to work for much less than the American standard. The communist government has figured it all out- work everybody to death for 40 cents an hour and pocket the rest of the profit, and soon they will be the most powerful economic force on the planet.

Those 13 year old faces you see will soon be replaced by American faces. The road we are on is not sustainable- our government is growing into socialism and soon enough the government will be working us to death and pocketing all the profits. Our standard of living is headed down while the Chinese standard of living heads uphill.

A government for the people by the people built the former American economic powerhouse, but now we are stupid, fat and lazy. The rest of the world is working overtime to take it away from us- and we Americans are helping them by depending more and more on government to take care of us- the Chinese are taking care of themselves. We will be working for them soon.

Enjoy it while it lasts- those 13 year old workers will be our kids soon enough.

Hey We are the WORLD POLICE, and The most Politically Correct country ,, so shut up and let people bitch about the rest of the world.
To hell with America we must save the people in other countries First.

Good points...we can't and should not expect to be able to change a country as big and powerful as China. Now that they are headed for dominance and we are headed for a weaker country (on purpose), we have no cards to play and should worry about just staying afloat. Even if China was using it's unproductive citizens as food (soylent green anyone?), we would still just be bitching about the cruelty and that's about the extent of it. The world police is vanishing for better or worse.

Hey, we are the world's 1 percent. Even the Occupy Wall Streeters are in this 1%. How do you like them apples?