well written article that sums it up nicely.
I have just a small thing to add which might sound a bit controversial.
The companies that did the buybacks were right to do so.
but not in the amount they did it
Its the job of the CEO to make money for the shareholder.
They can do that through augmentation of share value or through dividends. Sadly the tax rules made it more advantageous to use buybacks and they made it so their wage was linked to stock price through stock options.
What they did do was way to much and without regard for R&D and sustainable growth.
As usual greed got in the way of common sense