Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'We Have a Moral Responsibility to Help Grow the Economy'

Tim Cook last Friday visited Austin, Texas, where he announced that Apple's App Development with Swift curriculum will be offered in over 30 leading community college systems across the United States starting in 2017.

During his visit to Austin, Cook sat down with The New York Times for a breakfast interview where he discussed topics ranging from job creation and diversity to the company's efforts to introduce coding curriculum in schools and colleges.

timcookaustin


On the topic of creating jobs, Cook said that he believes Apple has a "moral responsibility to help grow the economy" and to contribute both to the United States and to the other countries where Apple does business. That's why the company has worked so hard to introduce initiatives like Swift Playgrounds and coding in schools, in addition to making other investments like the recently announced data center coming to Iowa.

Cook also said he believes that the government has become less functional over time and that businesses have a responsibility to "step up" in areas like job creation.

"The reality is that government, for a long period of time, has for whatever set of reasons become less functional and isn't working at the speed that it once was. And so it does fall, I think, not just on business but on all other areas of society to step up."

Apple is focusing heavily on jobs related to apps and coding because it's an area where the company has already created a thriving job economy. Apple says 150,000 new jobs were created through the App Store last year, with $5 billion paid out to developers. The focus is on community colleges because Cook says "the community college system is much more diverse than four-year schools."

He went on to say that Apple is aiming to increase the racial, gender, and geographic diversity of people who are learning to code. "Right now, the benefits of tech are too lopsided to certain states," he said.

During the interview, Cook also commented on Apple's environmental efforts. Apple's upcoming data center in Iowa will run fully on renewable energy, as do all of the company's other U.S. facilities. "We're running Apple a hundred percent on renewable energy today," he said.

Cook's full interview, which covers his thoughts on running for president ("I already have a job"), his coding skills, developers creating Android apps, and more can be read over at The New York Times.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

farewelwilliams Avatar
86 months ago
apple has the moral responsibility to update the Mac Mini
Score: 64 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DevNull0 Avatar
86 months ago
Maybe then they should bring home their cash pile, pay some of it in tax and use some of the rest of it to build US-based manufacturing.

Oh, but everything that comes out of Timmy is lies.
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jlasoon Avatar
86 months ago
This Trump hysteria is nauseating!

People act as though they're disappointed they didn't get Clinton part 2 or Bush part 3. Give it a rest - every damn website is being infected & turned into CNN.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theheadguy Avatar
86 months ago
This is hilarious for multiple reasons.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Markoth Avatar
86 months ago
The problem seems to be people's obsession with these abstract concepts such as "the economy". PEOPLE are the economy. You don't serve the economy, you, as an individual, get a job and buy stuff. That's really it. There's no moral issue here. If the economy isn't doing well, it's almost always due to government meddling. We the economy generally take care of ourselves.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thadoggfather Avatar
86 months ago
Trump is a patriot of Russia.
Havent heard about Russia crap in mainstream media much recently. Big new push for him being a white supremacist now.

The Van Jones nothingburgers got you good!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...