Yeah, or, Apple benefits handsomely from money spent on their behalf by the federal and local governments (e.g. the roads and public transit infrastructure serving their headquarters, the funding for the public universities and subsidized loans for private universities from which they draw their employees), but apparently doesn't feel any obligation for funding those benefits.

It's not about "feeling that they can spend the money better", it's that government already spent the money, and Apple (and other companies) benefited from it, and now they need to pay their share.