I didn't really want to say it quite the way you did, but bravo! Shakespeare is great entertainment, but reading all the literature in the world just makes you a better reader. You don't learn one useful thing until you read a technical book, whether in math, thermodynamics, statics, hydraulics, etc.
This service/information economy is like a fiat currency. Until a physical item is actually produced, true wealth does not increase...regardless of the Dow Jones.
*laugh* Which is why the economy has shrivelled since Rust Belt days, and we have 50% unemployment.