The gap is irrelevant. It's the lifting that counts. The gap only becomes a problem when the top doesn't get farther ahead by moving up, they get farther ahead by pushing others down (often while their absolute material wealth actually declines).
This is a point of view I do not share. It is a common argument, capitalism made everyone better of. But I would argue the gap matters even if the lower is better of. The CEO making 10 million Dollar a year did not create that value, the 10,000 workers on the factory floor did this.
That are only 1000 Dollar per worker and it might not matter that much to each one of them whether they earn 1000 Dollar more or less. But he fact that the workers are the ones actually producing the value while the CEO is the one disproportionally profiting from that, that seems to me unfair and at least psychological more relevant than 1000 Dollars more or less.
I fully agree with all the arguments about taking risks when founding a company and so on and getting some compensation for this, but that should not be excessive. Taking a bit of money from many to become disproportionally wealthy is something I am not okay with.
And I make no distinction how it is done, whether you take it from your employees, or from your customers depositing money in your bank, or by investing your existing wealth and collecting dividends. Taking some money from many is no better then taking much money from a few.
This is a point of view I do not share. It is a common argument, capitalism made everyone better of. But I would argue the gap matters even if the lower is better of. The CEO making 10 million Dollar a year did not create that value, the 10,000 workers on the factory floor did this.
That are only 1000 Dollar per worker and it might not matter that much to each one of them whether they earn 1000 Dollar more or less. But he fact that the workers are the ones actually producing the value while the CEO is the one disproportionally profiting from that, that seems to me unfair and at least psychological more relevant than 1000 Dollars more or less.
I fully agree with all the arguments about taking risks when founding a company and so on and getting some compensation for this, but that should not be excessive. Taking a bit of money from many to become disproportionally wealthy is something I am not okay with.
And I make no distinction how it is done, whether you take it from your employees, or from your customers depositing money in your bank, or by investing your existing wealth and collecting dividends. Taking some money from many is no better then taking much money from a few.