> It'd probably help if you stopped focusing on your pencil story, it's frankly off-topic.

I've no idea what this italicisation is meant to do; nor why this is off-topic. Stating things isn't explaining them.

> Even if the businessmen sell you cheap, perfect pencils (which I do not grant), swimming in them in your off hours won't help with the other half of your time.

It helps in that I don't have to spend as much of my time working to buy pencils. It's the same with everything. There's no reason why a laptop doesn't cost $1m except that the incredible, detailed, cross-continent cooperative work is done by experts and coordinated by a market for that work driving costs down and quality up.