Comment Re:Did they break any laws? (Score 1) 716
sucking money out of the economy, then letting it sit, thereby starving the economy of capital, thereby adding to high unemployment, lower wages, less benefits, less job security, less public services, etc
the issue is that big corporations are making large profits and are doing nothing with it. No reinvestment, no dividends, no capital investment – it just sitting in a bank account
Though I detect a subtle distinction between GP and your post, you are both describing cash hoarding. But where I really differ with you is here:
America has rock bottom interest rates and companies find it easy to hawk bonds to raise money – even junk bonds. So don’t worry about the Fed.
I worry a lot about the Fed. Just because rates are low doesn't mean that monetary policy is loose enough. Let's check inflation:
"Over the last 12 months, the all
items index increased 1.1 percent before seasonal adjustment."
1.1% inflation does not sound like the result of loose monetary policy. But macroeconomic data has all sorts of issues with it, so for some theory, let's go to the greatest monetary economist ever, Milton Freidman:
Low interest rates are generally a sign that money has been tight, as in Japan; high interest rates, that money has been easy. source
So the rock bottom interest rates that you refer to are indicative that money has been tight, when it should have been loose. Therefore I hold the Fed responsible and Apple (mostly) blameless.