Now that you link stock buybavks to growing salaries, I cannot ignore it anymore.

Stock buybacks only benefit shareholders and companies, not the economie. Trickle down and all that doesn't work, stock buybacks reduce a companies tax burden, especially when leveraged which they often are, do not lead to more investment. And they make the rich even richer.

See, for example, here:

https://hbr.org/2020/01/why-stock-buybacks-are-dangerous-for...

And salaries rise, primarily, through labour organization and collective bargaining.