While stock buybacks have plenty of critics, many economists say the money is better off flowing into investors’ pockets and into the economy instead of sitting in Apple’s coffers. “The money isn’t disappearing,” said Alan Auerbach, an economics and law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s total insanity,” said Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate and former presidential candidate. Apple has said the starting pay for workers at the world’s biggest iPhone factory, in Zhengzhou, China, is about $3.15 an hour. But some economists say that thinking is simplistic: Corporations aren’t the government and shouldn’t be expected to invest large sums in ventures that won’t contribute to profits.

Source: New York Times April 30, 2019 23:19 UTC