>> The computer nerds got played by financial nerds - value was not really destroyed, it just relocated into the pockets of a few saavy guys.
I'm not 100% sure which boom, dotcom or realestate, but both destroyed significant amounts of wealth. When money is spent building companies or houses that aren't needed then wealth is destroyed, those people could have been doing something to maintain or increase the amount of wealth. If you spend 100MM on 10MM company then you destroyed wealth, if you spend 10MM on a 1MM house you've destroyed wealth - those resource could have been put to better use satisfying other's needs and wants.
I'm not 100% sure which boom, dotcom or realestate, but both destroyed significant amounts of wealth. When money is spent building companies or houses that aren't needed then wealth is destroyed, those people could have been doing something to maintain or increase the amount of wealth. If you spend 100MM on 10MM company then you destroyed wealth, if you spend 10MM on a 1MM house you've destroyed wealth - those resource could have been put to better use satisfying other's needs and wants.