So, since the tax cut those much-hyped bonuses amounted to $6 billion, while share buybacks were $171 billion. This looks really bad -- and media who helped the hype should be ashamed. But it's actually worse than it looks 1/ money.cnn.com/2018/02/16/inv…
Even the advocates of big corporate tax cuts didn't claim -- or at least their models didn't claim -- that they would lead to immediate wage gains. Instead, they were supposed to lead to an investment boom, which would raise labor demand over time 2/
But it looks as if companies are using the tax windfall to buy back stock -- basically pay off investors -- rather than ramping up spending on plant and equipment. This is exactly what critics of the tax cut said they'd do 3/
It's also, but the way, what you'd expect if a large fraction of taxable profits represents monopoly rents rather than return to capital. And in that case, there will be very little trickle down. This will be a tax cut for the wealthy, full stop 4/
