The true cost of energy and other resources (besides labor) is going up but that is a red herring. Above all the money supply is going up. THAT is why wealth appears to be dying so rapidly. The West is heavily invested in assets that seem immaterial, because business is only possible in the West when profit margins are high. There are multiple reasons for this but they tend to fall under the umbrella of international competition. If we didn't print so much money, it would be more obvious that there are simply not so many good opportunities in the West as a whole, as all the old money makers get replaced by outsourcing and automation.