I completely agree with you @calaber24p. This crushing of innovation shows the control that certain entities have ("the 1% I guess") that have a desire to stifle any changes that would transfer that control out of there hands.

Monetary currencies also create this effect (as you are describing above) of stifling innovation. This happen because since money is the main goal, once that goal is completed there is no reason to do or create anything else. Usually what happens is people feel the have reached the plateau, then they see that there is higher one and a higher one. This cycle continues forever, endlessly trying to catch up with those who have more money than them.

luckily, there are those who get rich (some reaching this by being innovative) and then they fund innovations with there time and money. One example of a person like this is Luis von Ahn who created reCAPTCHA and then was bought by google. After he became a millionaire hes started teaching computer science at a university. Then went on to create duolingo. True inspiration, I wish more people (like him) could see there vision with innovation as a stronger cause than money.

P.S. I usually don't like to use the term "the 1%" cause i feel it is a crude representation of what is really trying to be explained when that phrase is said.