If your income doubles and my income doubles, then the gap also doubles. 2x-2y= 2(x-y)
(and we are both happy)
It's not the gap that matters, it's the basic standard of living of the people with the lowest income. They will be happy too if their income doubles - they don't care if the gap has doubled, as long as they can improve their own situation
The quality of life of the poorest is being improved all the time, simply by the impact of technology on the world.
This is a very important point to be noted. People who want equal income for all actually destroys the livelihood of the poor. Poor will be much better in an open economy with lower taxes.
You mean like the USA?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Number_in_Poverty_and_Poverty_Rate_1959_to_2011._United_States..PNGThis is a graph of relative poverty not absolute poverty.
If being one one the 42 million Americans who has to put up with a 42 inch tv instead of a 52 inch tv is the definition of poverty, then we have come a long way.
The poorest people in America are richer than 99% of all the people who have ever existed.
Jesus fucking Christ. Is this really how you believe people live in poverty in the USA?
1 in 7 American households were
FOOD INSECURE last year. [1]
1.6 million children stayed in a shelter or emergency housing last year. [1]
Of course it's much easier to just subscribe to the populist views of the right wing media who try so desperately to paint all poor people as dead weight scroungers who sponge off the state to pay for their home entertainment systems, drugs, and alcohol, right?
Sure, the standard of living is higher due to technology: when you can afford that technology.
[1]
http://www.povertyusa.org/Sorry to learn how shit life is in the richest country in the world - I don't live in the richest country in the world.