We've definitely been talking about this for years.
What this article is talking about is a huge paradigm shift in how we - ie people - see value. As a society, we don't really care about intelligence, we care about wealth and fame above all else. At least, that's what I see it here in the US.
I might have missed it, but the vast majority of patents are held by corporations - not people - so I'm not sure the socioeconomic analysis is hugely valid. I get the warning, of course statistically there are more people that could have been a great inventor/innovator, but the inequity likely doesn't start or stop with economics.
The article cries fowl of wealth inequity, and I'm not saying that isn't a factor. But what's more staggering to me is the way parental habits affect children. It seems largely that children follow in their parents' footsteps on so many paths - be it relationships, jobs, education ... most anything. We make screwed up clones of ourselves - and that's terrifying.