[SteveEisenberg]

The conditions and pace sound a little like what auto assembly plants were like in Henry Ford's time (and maybe still, I don't know). Most auto workers did not last long. But at least those who did last were paid a reasonably commensurate salary. From the little I read about the Foxconn plants where the current generation Kindle is actually made, they may also, taking prevailing Chinese wages into account, work that way.

As a Pennsylvanian, here's my attitude: We are giving Amazon a great deal by allowing them exemption from the sales tax despite their having a big physical presence in the state. The only real justification for this is to bring in good jobs. Amazon should somehow be told that if they don't start making their jobs good permanent ones, the tax deal is off.

I know that they'll then move out of state, as they did in Texas. And I know there's a depression going on, so how picky can you be? And I'm not sure I was even right to start here what could be seen as a political thread having only a tenuous connection to the Kindle. The whole thing is damn frustrating.