> A CEO being paid obscenely has absolutely no impact on the middle class, it just makes a nice boogeyman for politicians.
Except that envy is part of the human condition, and arguably, a key component of human progress. Left unchecked, though, envy can lead to social instability. See, e.g., Kahneman and Tversky's work about how people are willing to incur harm to themselves to punish what they perceive as unfairness (sorry, no time to get the cite). So arranging our societal structures to keep envy in check might be necessary, even if it means giving some high earners a haircut on their income.
Except that envy is part of the human condition, and arguably, a key component of human progress. Left unchecked, though, envy can lead to social instability. See, e.g., Kahneman and Tversky's work about how people are willing to incur harm to themselves to punish what they perceive as unfairness (sorry, no time to get the cite). So arranging our societal structures to keep envy in check might be necessary, even if it means giving some high earners a haircut on their income.