>What happened to Ford's "pay them enough to afford what they make"? Sheesh.

Henry Ford didn't do business in a global market where he could shop for labor in China or Mexico. A modern day Henry Ford doesn't need to care whether his employees can afford what they make, when he has the entire world to sell to.

You are aware Ford has thousands of employees in Brazil in the 20's and 30's?

I was not aware. Guess I stand corrected, then.

I think my general point still stands - a modern business doesn't necessarily benefit from enriching its employees or the community in which it operates.

The civility here never fails to disappoint me

Huh? Never fails to impress?

And paid very well in Brazil too. Much above the average here.

He did this mostly because they believed it would keep people working for him and they needed good assembly workers. That they picked a number that could make the car affordable was more or less a happy accident.