Final answer:
The U.S. economy has greatly increased its production of goods and services by nearly a factor of four since 1960, and this includes improvements in product quality and new inventions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The speaker suggests that the U.S. economy has significantly increased the real production of goods and services by nearly a factor of four over the last 50 or 60 years. This growth in production indicates a substantial material improvement that includes not just the quantity of goods, but also enhancements in the quality of products and the invention of new products. This evolution has had wide-ranging effects, from creating product gluts due to overproduction to influencing global economies and the environment through the mass production and distribution of goods.