Seems really frivolous.
I watched this one, too.
I do not know if his statements about debt and inflation are correct - economics is not something I understand. However, it appears even to the non-expert undeniable that the economic system that we currently have is organized in such a way that wealth of the entire country gradually is “gleaned” or, in his words, “skimmed” by NYC. This is because all raising and transferring of capital happens through the financial system, and fees and profits are always gleaned by the finance professionals. Regions with genuinely profitable businesses (such as San Francisco and to some extent still Los Angeles) will also grow wealth. In the rest of the country, wealth is slowly sapped on the broader level, although individuals might emerge who pull in money from the internet.
It’s critical and fascinating that the economy of NYC is held afloat by the fact that it services the distribution of money to service-providing corporations, money which ultimately comes from the government printing it. Once the financial industry deploys that money, it meets basic needs of the country and not too much else. The financiers get really rich in the process. Nothing is produced, really.
His pessimism about 90 IQ people only being able to be cobblers or something is not good. This isn’t how you run a society or make healthy children. It’s also not true.
While AI can theoretically do anything, it will require a great deal of time for it to do manual jobs since few people like building robots.
The main problem remains merely cultural.