Chuck Schumer: “when the Republican majority forced through a $1.5 trillion tax cut to big corporations and the richest Americans, a big…”

“when the Republican majority forced through a $1.5 trillion tax cut to big corporations and the richest Americans, a big question was, What will those companies do with the money? Roughly, $1 trillion of that $1.5 trillion was aimed at the biggest corporations. Republicans promised that corporations would reinvest the savings from the tax bill, stimulating jobs and economic growth. We Democrats warned that corporations would do what is best for themselves, not necessarily what is best for workers or the economy. There is often a dichotomy, as we have learned over the years. It has been only a few months since the Republican tax cut was signed into law, and while a few corporations here and there announced annual bonuses with a whole lot of hoopla from the President and the Republicans, we don't hear a peep now that they have been announcing an avalanche of corporate stock buybacks--an absolute bonanza for corporate leaders and for wealthy shareholders. Over $200 billion in corporate buybacks have been announced since January, putting corporations on pace to spend over $1 trillion this year buying back their own stock. This morning, the oil and gas giant Chevron announced it expects to restart its share repurchasing program since halting it in 2015. Why? Because they just reaped $2 billion in savings from the Republican tax bill. Chevron told the Houston Chronicle last week it is planning no major changes or benefits given to its workers. Let me repeat that.…”