Isn't this the only thing that matters?

I can't see how cutbacks in social welfare programs, especially education, helps with growth.

Professors are as greedy for money as anyone else, but the fact is, the growth and wealth they generate gets pumped into non-profit educational institutions or else into the private sector, while professors earn pretty good middle class salaries.

This is a dynamic that should be better heeded because it shows that growth comes not necessarily from the unfettered movement of capital but rather from people (some of them smart and talented) who derive more pleasure from creating growth than from financial remuneration.