Apple exporting US jobs, says Brown

Members of the Occupy protest movement should target companies like Apple, rather than protest at places like the docks in Oakland, California, says former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. On Sunday the San Francisco Chronicle published an editorial by Brown, in which he accused the Occupy movement of hurting the 99 percent in the form of dock workers and truck drivers. "If the Occupy people really want to make a point about the 1 percent, then lay off Oakland and go for the real money down in Silicon Valley," the column reads.

"The folks who work on the docks in Oakland or drive the trucks in and out of the port are all part of the 99 percent. They take our goods from all over the state and export them," Brown continues. "The only thing those cats down at Apple are exporting are our jobs. Then they have the nerve to ask for tax breaks, and Washington obliges."

Apple relies heavily on foreign labor, mostly in the form of contracted suppliers and manufacturers from places like China, Taiwan, and Japan. It has also has a history of enjoying tax breaks, and recently argued that it should keep more repatriated cash despite crippling US budget problems.

Brown also charges the Occupy movement with hypocrisy. "If Occupy wants to make a real statement, it ought to pick on a real target," he concludes. "But then, it might prove a bit embarrassing. From what I've seen, half those Occu-cats have iPhones and iPads."

by MacNN Staff