Lazonick: Stock Buy-Backs have Killed the Middle Class

AIRnet President William Lazonick joined Jane Miyasaki on the 8 O’Clock Buzz show on WORT FM to discuss the implications of Rule 10B-18 and its impact on stock buybacks. In the interview, Lazonick argued that stock buybacks allow executives to enrich themselves at the expense of the middle class. He pointed out that companies are using buybacks to return profits to shareholders instead of reinvesting in their businesses or increasing wages for employees.

Senator Chuck Schumer was quoted in the interview as calling stock buybacks “self-serving,” and Senator Tammy Baldwin was mentioned for her efforts to reverse a rule that limits companies’ liability for stock buybacks.

Listen to the full interview via WORT FM here: https://www.wortfm.org/lazonick-stock-buy-backs-have-killed-the-middle-class/

See “Letter to SEC: How Stock Buybacks Undermine Investment in Innovation for the Sake of Stock-Price Manipulation” by William Lazonick and Ken Jacobson: https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/letter-to-sec-a-policy-framework-for-attaining-sustainable-prosperity-in-the-united-states

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