Precisely. Many Fortune 100 US companies took the vast majority of their tax windfall/oversea cash and bought back the stock. Before you say most Americans own 401K's and have benefited from this - the relative increase in 401K's is dwarfed by the increase in housing prices and general inflation. Most Americans have experience single digit wage growth since the early 1980s, while the cost of pretty much everything has increased by double digits.
Most Americans are worse off today (from an earnings standpoint once you normalize it for inflation and purchasing power) than they were 30 years ago.
I think the reason this isn't more obvious is that technology has improved so rapidly that for just a few thousand dollars... maybe 5% of the average household's income, we can buy really fantastic technology products compared to previous generations. So these gadgets are helping to partially compensate for the loss of so much real wealth.
Even top-10% software engineers making $300k total compensation are really just achieving what I'd consider "normal slightly-upper middle class financial comfort". Ability to buy a modest home near their work, afford to have children and send them to college, etc.
Any American can invest in American companies. And even if they do not, they benefit from the taxes the companies pay. (And yes, they do pay their taxes -- they pay a whole lot of taxes.)
Apple certainly does pay their fair share of taxes, but this doesn’t do anything to change the economic structure.
Your facts are correct, but irrelevant.
Apple exists under the same tax regime as every other company and pays what is due. You can certainly argue for increasing taxes on various corporate activities, but to claim that Apple doesn’t pay it’s share is false.
Insurance is also a form of fair tax, when premiums are based on claim history and objective risk factors, and the market is reasonably competitive.
Can you show me a single example of a company paying more than it’s legally mandated share?
If not - why pick on Apple?
The economy is demonstrably structured so that only a small number benefit, whilst income has been stagnant for generations, and living standards have been declining because of rising healthcare costs.
Bringing down Apple may benefit nobody, but there is no longer any reason for most Americans to care about the success of American businesses since they can’t share in the prosperity.