[confluence]

T-shirts aren't broken windows - people want them, they are supplied, the economy rolls on. Just because you think they are a waste - doesn't mean the market does - and all that matters is what people demand. That's the great thing about the market - it's not what you want - it's what everyone else demands - and people really like clothes and they really like t-shirts, and they don't mind paying for it.

Secondly, your making a false comparison between islands and countries. That's a closed system. America exports IP and brings back it's surplus through the investment of everyone else lowering their cost of borrowing (0% T-bills).

It's irrelevant how many people in America actually produce - what is relevant, is that enough production is carried out. Nowadays that means robots and automation - not people. America will do fine so long as it stays innovative and keeps itself at the centre of the IP world - even if the vast majority of Americans don't do jack (but then again so do the vast majority of Chinese - most could be replaced with a machine).