sure, but input tokens are way cheaper than output.

There is also a phenomenon I've named "brevity collapse." Often, when shrinking a codebase, you find you need less glue. Additionally, because it is smaller, you can hold more of it in your head and see more opportunities for shrinkage. Surprising things happen when the bones of your language get more efficient---it's more like going from elephant to flea than elephant to grizzly bear. The smaller scale means there's less "overhead" code, which means you can go smaller still.