"Tim Cook Panders to Trump"

[Ted King]

Is this author being too hard on Tim Cook (Apple CEO)?:

https://slate.com/business/2018/01/tim-c...trump.html

As a thank you for his tax bill, Apple CEO Tim Cook has apparently decided to stroke Donald Trump’s ego a bit.

On Wednesday, Apple blasted out a press release announcing that it planned to invest some $30 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, while building a new campus and hiring an additional 20,000 workers. In the same statement, the company also explained that, as a result of the Republican tax plan, it would be required to pay only $38 billion to the IRS in order repatriate the roughly $250 billion in profits it has stashed overseas.

Nowhere in the announcement did Apple say these two things were actually related. But juxtaposing the fruits of tax reform with its new investment projects certainly encouraged readers to interpret it that way, and Republicans, including president Trump, seized on the opportunity to take credit.

In an interview that aired today on Good Morning America, Cook got a bit more explicit. “Without these policy changes, would you be able to announce today the creation of 20,000 new jobs?” ABC’s Rebecca Jarvis asked him. “No, there clearly—let me be clear, there are large parts of this that are results of the tax reform, and there are large parts of this that we would have done in any situation,” Cook responded.

You can choose to believe Cook or not. Personally, I don’t. As I wrote yesterday, Apple already lays out billions of dollars every year on capital expenditures and has never been constrained by a lack of cash. Even the money it kept overseas was easily accessible. All the company had to do was borrow against it with low interest, which Apple did happily in order to reward its shareholders with dividends and buybacks.

The linked article also shows a tweet from Trump where he takes credit for Apple doing this.

[Pam]

Ted King wrote:
Is this author being too hard on Tim Cook (Apple CEO)?:

https://slate.com/business/2018/01/tim-c...trump.html

As a thank you for his tax bill, Apple CEO Tim Cook has apparently decided to stroke Donald Trump’s ego a bit.

On Wednesday, Apple blasted out a press release announcing that it planned to invest some $30 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, while building a new campus and hiring an additional 20,000 workers. In the same statement, the company also explained that, as a result of the Republican tax plan, it would be required to pay only $38 billion to the IRS in order repatriate the roughly $250 billion in profits it has stashed overseas.

Nowhere in the announcement did Apple say these two things were actually related. But juxtaposing the fruits of tax reform with its new investment projects certainly encouraged readers to interpret it that way, and Republicans, including president Trump, seized on the opportunity to take credit.

In an interview that aired today on Good Morning America, Cook got a bit more explicit. “Without these policy changes, would you be able to announce today the creation of 20,000 new jobs?” ABC’s Rebecca Jarvis asked him. “No, there clearly—let me be clear, there are large parts of this that are results of the tax reform, and there are large parts of this that we would have done in any situation,” Cook responded.

You can choose to believe Cook or not. Personally, I don’t. As I wrote yesterday, Apple already lays out billions of dollars every year on capital expenditures and has never been constrained by a lack of cash. Even the money it kept overseas was easily accessible. All the company had to do was borrow against it with low interest, which Apple did happily in order to reward its shareholders with dividends and buybacks.

The linked article also shows a tweet from Trump where he takes credit for Apple doing this.

Trump would take credit for my dog taking a dump

[cbelt3]

Pam wrote:
...
Trump would take credit for my dog taking a dump

"The best crap !"

[beagledave]

cbelt3 wrote:
[quote=Pam]
...
Trump would take credit for my dog taking a dump

"The best crap !"

[Lemon Drop]

No, there clearly—let me be clear, there are large parts of this that are results of the tax reform, and there are large parts of this that we would have done in any situation,” Cook responded.

That's a lot of large parts Tim. Great non-answer, says nothing and everything. That's why he's the CEO.

[graylocks]

apple has been calling for a change in the corporate tax structure for a very long time. how that change came about put them in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. i'm sure Cook wouldn't purposely make 45 look good but built into the law was a one-time, do it now break of the money only being taxed at 15% instead of the new 21%. it would have been irresponsible for Apple not to take advantage of that.

i'm inclined to take Cook at his word about this.

[max]

Ted King wrote:
The linked article also shows a tweet from Trump where he takes credit for Apple doing this.

Pam wrote:
Trump would take credit for my dog taking a dump

Another theater of the hypocrisy.
Trump delivered for Apple and you are whining.
Just as Trump delivered for Israel and SteveG is kvetching.

At least Tim Cook went out half way to acknowledge it....

[deckeda]

Oh but the big news from yesterday is the $2500 in restricted stock units (RSU) Apple also announced they'd be offering to employees.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...ew-tax-law

The conservative blogosphere and social media is heralding this as proof-positive how trickle-down economics works, now that Apple has proven to liberals how tax reduction directly results in cash-money in the pockets of the populace.

Some people rightly ask what the difference is between RSU and stock options, but there are a few that seem to need to know the difference between RSU and CASH.