Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.
That line implies that we needed all the goods/services of last year, for example collateralized debt obligations and $42,000 cats. Actually we didn't, and it's a good thing that the markets for them collapsed. Also, our capacity isn't diminished, but it was never as high as our collective lifestyle, anyway. We were living beyond our means.
The solution to homelessness and poverty isn't hopefully, confidently reinflating luxury and financial markets. It's feeding poor people with rich people's money until someone creates an actually useful product and opens up a market that way; plus investing in new ideas with rich people's money.
Right now we should redistribute the wealth we do have, not pretend to create more wealth.
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