Oldtime et. al., 'net worth' is not different from aggregate real assets. Net worth is an individual notion that is the sum of possessory rights to real assets controlled by an individual. 'Buying Power' is the leverage ratio of net worth. Real aggregate assets, net worth and buying power are all about he same thing. The question is how to make a simple metric from the asset basis that helps to explain weath dynanmics. I don't see a conflict of ideas.
I think it helps to get to what I am talking about if you understand that all wealth is simply the possessory right to a future income stream discounted to the present. The possessory right is what I am defining as real assets. In a capitalist society real assets can be possessed individually. The present value of those assets can change by changed expectations about the future with regard to taxation, regulation or property law among other issues that change the discount in the possessory right to the future income stream. Much of what we call value, therefore, depends on our view of the future.
About the notion of the power plant in Arizona not helping the guy in NJ who can't afford power...so what? The power plant in Arizona is an asset to those who have the possessory right to its cash flow. Apparently the guy in NJ has no such right. Why can't he afford his electric bill? This has nothing to do with what I am talking about and the two ideas, the power plant and the guy in NJ who is broke are two seperate issues. I don't get the point.
The issue of production v. consumption is really a zero sum game. All consumption is dependent on prior production (form of savings), present production (form of present surplus revenue) or future production (form of basis for credit). Really there is no such thing as a consumer, there are only producers who spend surplus production or otherwise subsidize others who spend surplus production. The problem occurs when all the past production saved has been spent or lost and the surplus of present production in insufficient to support current consumption, and the expectation of future production that has been the basis for credit to fund the current consumption deficit, begins to be discounted down by the creditors...reducing the credit available. That is the basis of our current crises.
Problem is that we have no been infesting in the creation and maintenance of assets that are the basis of future produciton...so we have to reduce the expectation of future growth.
