I am not advocating for defense contractors making swaths of money. But you stated that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have destroyed wealth. That's not really true. The housing bubble busting, for example, destroyed wealth, as many families' wealth was tied into the value of their home. No one actively lost money because of the wars. Yes, the money added greatly to the deficit and could have been used for infrastructure here. But you can't assume that that money would have simply been spent on items like efficient engine R&D.

As for productivity, let me be more clear, too. Productivity per worker (i.e., widgets made) are also at historical highs. Corporations are very lean.