To start with Google and Facebook don't feel any pressure to do any of this. Their founders have complete control of the company, and they do not have to listen to anyone.
That article is a little misleading because it does not net cash holdings with liabilities. The notion of "holding cash" is a ridiculously misleading concept. For example, Apple does have a lot of cash and cash equivalents: roughly $250bn worth. But they also have a lot of debt. $165bn of debt according to their latest filing[1]. And what's more, Apple holds this cash offshore, and borrow money domestically. So, they use the money they borrow to buy back their stock and pay dividends, but leave their cash offshore, with the hopes of one day getting a tax holiday that would allow that money to come back to the US tax free to pay back the aforementioned debt.
Even still Apple is a cash-heavy company, but that same narrative is playing out in every business that has an international presence. They accumulate "cash" overseas, borrow against it domestically to do stock buybacks, and then the NYT can write misleading articles.
That article is a little misleading because it does not net cash holdings with liabilities. The notion of "holding cash" is a ridiculously misleading concept. For example, Apple does have a lot of cash and cash equivalents: roughly $250bn worth. But they also have a lot of debt. $165bn of debt according to their latest filing[1]. And what's more, Apple holds this cash offshore, and borrow money domestically. So, they use the money they borrow to buy back their stock and pay dividends, but leave their cash offshore, with the hopes of one day getting a tax holiday that would allow that money to come back to the US tax free to pay back the aforementioned debt.
Even still Apple is a cash-heavy company, but that same narrative is playing out in every business that has an international presence. They accumulate "cash" overseas, borrow against it domestically to do stock buybacks, and then the NYT can write misleading articles.
[1] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=AAPL