[kmdev]

Not at all. While the author does end with a curve ball on the arts (which he then admits in the commments), the point is valid. Spending on infrastructure, education, reasearch, healthcare, exploration and the like contribute much more than the sum total of their costs. NASA is a well known example of this. DARPA as well.

What you're describing contributes to a vicious cycle. Lowering prices means less revenue which translates to lay-offs, scaling back and cutting corners. That means worse quality and less demand, which means lower prices again - so on and so forth. Unfortunately, a simple supply and demand curve doesn't come close to describing a functioning modern economy.