The reality is that maximizing production will only increase the economic output: it will not automatically cause the wealth to flow to those who need it to meet their basic needs or those who want to acquire luxurious goods (i.e. those goods and services beyond the basics). We can test this idea by comparing the growth in GDP from 2007 to 2012 to the corresponding change in the level of poverty. For these 5 years, the GDP in the US grew from $13.9 trillion to $15.5 trillion. During these years, the number of poor didn't fall but rose from 37.3 million in 2007 to 46.5 million people in 2012.