The academic job market is so tight in most fields that random universities in the middle of nowhere get hundreds of applicants for a single tenure-track job. If you go back 100 years ago you would find that Harvard was a lot less selective (there were far fewer academics), but it was still elite.

Overall, society isn't putting enough money into research. Elite universities hiring more faculty would be a great thing, in my estimation.

You absolutely can hire more top talent.