@cczona Also, most ways we traditionally measure the economy (or what we dish out money to people for) is wealth extraction. Did we make the rich people richer? That's the Number in Number Go Up! We did it, Patrick! We saved the city!

There are many other things we could look at that are actually worth our time. Are people less stressed, better able to make their basic needs, able to buy "frivolous" things like hobby supplies or movie tickets? Are fewer people in extreme poverty?

The pressure to define productivity by wealth extractive measures is coming from the rich, and it is - by definition - self-centered.