Why is it a competition? If you give me a slice of cake, and I give you $5, and we're both happy with that, why should I care if you're somehow "winning" or I'm "losing"? That mindset seems like a self-fulling prophecy that robs me of my satisfaction.

Also, I would argue that receiving money does not mean the producer wins, since ultimately the producer is also a consumer, and who will thus be spending those dollars on the same things as every other consumer… comfort and status, as you put it.