> the wealthy can only consume so much That is exactly the point. The wealthy cannot consume too much, so they will invest the rest. Investment means factories

> the wealthy can only consume so much That is exactly the point. The wealthy cannot consume too much, so they will invest the rest. Investment means factories and jobs for the poor. The government could take the money and do the investments themselves, but that never really works well. With so many inefficiencies, the governments would slow down the economic development significantly. Communist countries had 5 year plans setup by the government and they fell further and further behind in the market. All the money was distributed by the government, based on studies and decisions made mostly by engineers and politicians (e.g. if a dam was deemed profitable it was built no matter what. If nuclear is better it was getting built, and get public support afterwards etc.), and still they fell behind.