would this elite talent be that productive there like it is here? I don't think so. I think moving talent to the most productive environment is the win for the civilization as a whole.
This is probably a key thing which gets buried in the details. Potential value and actual realized value of a resource can be really different depending on the opportunities. Individuals rarely exists in isolation, every time they do better, they impact others in positive way, sort of uplifting everyone around them by some margin.
A simple manifestation of this is how we start up coal fire. The idea is similar, bring the hot blocks together so they produce a lot more heat which in turn heats up the entire coal load. Move away the red hot blocks to isolation and the fire would die away in no time.
Only if there's something flowing back that amounts to more than crumbs falling off the edge of the table, i.e. ownership of what these talented people help build, not just salaries/remittances.
Silicon Valley is actually pretty good at that, compared to e.g. academia in the US.
A simple manifestation of this is how we start up coal fire. The idea is similar, bring the hot blocks together so they produce a lot more heat which in turn heats up the entire coal load. Move away the red hot blocks to isolation and the fire would die away in no time.