[ethanbond]

Yes, in the economic sense of productivity, it is. Your high income = high rent is the same statement as what I’m saying.

The mechanisms are the same, though. Amazon putting HQ2 in a city causes rent to go up (higher productivity).

A coal mine developing a new, more efficient train to move coal around will also cause rent to go up (higher productivity).

[squeaky-clean]

1. You didn't provide any actual evidence or deeper claims than (putting something in parenthesis). I don't really believe the coal mine claim, as in reality we don't see that happening. Mining towns are still among the cheapest and poorest towns in America.

2. That's a really naive sense of economic productivity. Here is a thought experiment.

A) Let's shut down all of Amazon HQ1.

B) Let's shut down the dams that provide 86% of Seattle greater area's electricity.

Which one of these entities is ACTUALLY responsible for that "productivity" then? And I bet you rents in Seattle without electricity would drop far greater proportionally than they do out by the dams. Rent follows incomes, not productivity.

[ethanbond]

There is no deeper claim being made. We are saying the same thing. You can call it income if you'd like. A person's wages are some portion of their productivity. The distinction is irrelevant for this point.