Why Decry the Wealth Gap?

[Brett Knowlton]

Why is it so hard to get a simple question to a simple answer?  From my
last attempt, I thought this might happen, which is why I tried to preface
the question with a statement of how I feel about the larger issue of
inequality.  But it didn't help.

As I said before, the main reason for my question is this: I've read a lot
of stuff on the left which claims that rising income inequality means that
people have lost ground economically over where they were 10, 15, or 20
years ago.  The authors usually mean individuals.  Another incarnation:
individuals work harder for less purchasing power, so the standard of
living for most people has declined over the last 2 decades.

This might be correct, or it might not be.  I'm interested in the narrow
answer to this narrow question.

This says nothing about whether or not capitalist relations are "good."  It
says nothing about whether or not workers are exploited.  It says nothing
about whether or not I think immigrants are people, for goodness sake.

Brett