Yep you nailed it. There is no incentive to tie up money in any long term productive investment so you can either go with short run safety and lose a little short run, or take a short run gamble in the casino. Even a lot of “buy and hold” equity is ending up in short term speculation beneath the covers instead of long run investments in higher productivity.
Agreed. When corporations are using excess cash to buy up their own stock, you know we’re in economic stasis. Worse, more regulation encourages consolidation and a move to large companies away from innovative small companies.