They are talking a trillion dollar stimulus, with the bulk of the money going to companies, and not people.
If we are going to bailout airlines, hotels, cruise lines, casinos, etc., then we should ban the recipients from engaging in stock buybacks for the next decade. (Or longer, or forever)
When you consider the fact that just American Airlines spent $12 billion on stock buybacks in the past 6 years, instead of spending the money on capital improvements or building up a cash buffer, this makes sense.
The orgy of stock buybacks has never been about shareholder value, it has always been about juicing the stock options of senior management.
It’s control fraud, the looting of these companies by senior management, and it needs to end.
(update)
I should note that allowing stock buybacks is relatively recent, the SEC adopted SEC Rule 10b-18 1982.