There's an assumption here that being richer just lets you buy more stuff and services.
Wealth, however, is power. While Bill Gates may be no more capable than me at driving faster on the 101, I definitely can't pay a lobbying firm 10 million dollars a year to make sure government policy serves my interests, or secretly pay to have lies told in support of my cause by dozens of seemingly credible people.
Some proportion of people are going to be unethical, and there are > 400 billionaires in the U.S.
The conveniently ignored problem with rising wealth inequality is the power imbalances it creates, and the strong reinforcing feedback loops it enables.
Wealth, however, is power. While Bill Gates may be no more capable than me at driving faster on the 101, I definitely can't pay a lobbying firm 10 million dollars a year to make sure government policy serves my interests, or secretly pay to have lies told in support of my cause by dozens of seemingly credible people.
Some proportion of people are going to be unethical, and there are > 400 billionaires in the U.S.
The conveniently ignored problem with rising wealth inequality is the power imbalances it creates, and the strong reinforcing feedback loops it enables.
[edited to fix typo]