> This money is not simply sitting under a mattress. It's being reinvested, often in low risk treasury bonds, lowering the cost of borrowing for the government. A small fraction of it might be allocated to equity, and a smaller fraction of that might be allocated to startups, etc.
Reinvesting cash in low return investments is not what a company should be about (unless it's an insurance company). It's basic company finance that if you can't reinvest into the company to increase earnings at a greater rate than a bond, then you should get rid of the cash (pay dividends). I'm not talking about apple here, just pointing out that reinvesting into low risk treasuries isn't much different to putting it under a mattress.
Reinvesting cash in low return investments is not what a company should be about (unless it's an insurance company). It's basic company finance that if you can't reinvest into the company to increase earnings at a greater rate than a bond, then you should get rid of the cash (pay dividends). I'm not talking about apple here, just pointing out that reinvesting into low risk treasuries isn't much different to putting it under a mattress.