Apple's outsourcing mentioned in presidential debate

With the launch of the Apple iPhone 5 behind us, and the apparent introduction of the Apple iPad mini less than a week away, Apple made some other news when the company's outsourcing was interjected into the presidential debate on Tuesday night. Calling Apple a "great American company," Moderator Candy Crowley asked both candidates how they would try to convince a firm like Apple to return all of the manufacturing jobs to the U.S. that left for lower wage workers incountries like China.

Romney was the first to answer and said that America was not to blame and that the fault should be placed squarely on the shoulders of China. The Republican candidate said that China has been cheating by devaluing its currency, (a move that tends to increase exports and lower imports) hacking computers and stealing IP. As an example, he mentioned the counterfeit Apple Stores found last year in China. Back home, the Governor said that America should be made more attractive for entrepreneurs and those who want to expand business.

The president said that some jobs have left the country for good, but these are the low-skill, low-pay jobsthat the country doesn't want. Obama said that he would like the U.S.to attract more high skill, high paying jobs. He added that the U.S.must invest in advanced manufacturing for stability to return to the country. Obama added that cutting investments in research and science will lead to the next innovation being discovered by some other country which will host "the next Apple."

"iPad, the Macs the iPhones, they're all manufactured in China. One of the major reasons is labor is so much cheaper here (sic). How do you convince a great American company to bring that manufacturing back here?"-Candy Crowley, moderator