[danjayh]

Also you seem to be under the incorrect assumption that capital will just sit in a warehouse as bricks of $100 bills collecting dust. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, one of a few things will happen:

1) Apple will spend it on capital investments (factories, campuses, data centers, etc.) in its business. Doesn't benefit the government, but benefits the country.

2) Apple will spend it on R&D / employees. Doesn't benefit the government directly, but benefits the country.

3) Apple will dump it into an American bank. That bank has a reserve ratio that is relatively low. It will lend several times the amount that Apple deposits to people or corporations who will do 1) or 2)

4) Apple will spend it on buybacks and dividends, which ultimately ends up in the hands of Apple's owners (you and me through our 401(k)'s, and probably a bunch of rich people as well), who will do 1), 2), or 3)

So, whether or not the government gets a cut, it benefits everyone who actually lives here.

[pg314]

You seem to be under the incorrect assumption that it is currently sitting in a foreign warehouse as bricks of $100 bills collecting dust. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to page 49 of Apple's yearly report [1] at the end of 2016 its cash and equivalents were invested as follows (amounts in millions): * U.S. Treasury securities 41,697 * U.S. agency securities 7,543 * Non-U.S. government securities 7,609 * Certificates of deposit and time deposits 6,598 * Commercial paper 7,433 * Corporate securities 131,166 * Municipal securities 956 * Mortgage- and asset-backed securities 19,134

The repatriation is just a tax/accounting fiction. Yes, Apple now has more flexibility to do with that cash what it wants (mostly return capital to shareholders through dividends and buybacks), but on aggregate for the economy it doesn't make a huge difference.

[1] http://investor.apple.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=1628280-16-...

[danjayh]

I know this post is a few days old, but having that cash invested in treasuries, bonds, CDs, etc. is as close to a warehouse as it can possibly get. I strongly suspect that a good chunk of it will be spent on capital investments once it's repatriated.