(or: a tale of two economies)
In reading the company’s old annual reports, you get a sense that its executives thought of the jobs created and the wages paid as a source of pride and achievement. On the first page of most years’ annual reports was an accounting of how many employees the company had in the United States and worldwide, and the total pay and benefits they received.
Apple, with a spaceship-like campus about to open, looms large over Cupertino in its own way, accounting for something like 40 percent of the jobs in the city, and investing $70 million in local environmental and infrastructure upgrades. It is no middle-class enclave; the median home price is $1.9 million.
“We definitely feel a sense of pride to be the home of Apple,” said Savita Vaidhyanathan, the mayor of Cupertino. “But they consider themselves a global company, not necessarily a Cupertino company.” She said she has never met Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive. “We would have a hard time getting an audience with anybody beyond upper-middle management,” she said.
This is the most salient point of this article, for me. The differentiation between what is done by an employee (and therefore has a career path) and what is done by a service provider (which is a dead-end job).
How does someone elevate themselves when they are working for a service provider, who is probably cutting every benefit and corner, to compete with other low-price providers? There's no access for you to get into the office that you are currently cleaning...
It's the way of business in America today... but that doesn't make it "right".