Notable that this entire chart was illegal until 1982. Stock buybacks were considered criminal market manipulation until early, shocked pikachu face, in the Reagan administration.
https://cosocial.ca/@paul@paulkedrosky.com/116109266956475635
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We should see this as a rule: if your company needs to do things that were illegal before the Reagan administration to make the books work, then what you actually make is financial chicanery and your company is totally unsustainable.