• When the SEC greatly facilitated corporate share buybacks and executive pay was tied to the stock price, the elements were in place for management to game the system.
• Stock markets became vehicles for massive extraction, rather than funding, of corporations as these embarked on enormous share buybacks which boosted share prices and executive compensation.
• While this has been the major fuel behind an epic stock market rally, the system isn’t without significant cost.

From Value Creation To Value Extraction | Seeking Alpha