> 1. Is anyone worse off because Mark Zuckerberg is very rich?
Mark Zuckerberg? Probably not directly; Facebook's employees are treated well, as far as I'm aware. But that's an awfully narrow example to cherry-pick. How about the Waltons, or Jeff Bezos? Employees in Wal-Mart stores and Amazon warehouses go without benefits, unemployment compensation, a living wage, and sometimes basic climate control, so that the wealthy can line their pockets.
The wealth of CEOs does not descend upon them from heaven as a divine reward for good management. Every million dollars they get is a million that is not being spent on compensating employees. (Or on growing the business, etc.) Obviously CEOs deserve compensation for their work just like anyone else, and I haven't done the math on how much the Waltons and Jeff Bezos are worth vs. how much it would cost to treat all of their employees decently; but when a boss is worth billions and their employees can't afford food or medicine for their children, it's obscene.
> 2. If policies to reduce income inequality made the poor worse off, would you be in favor of them?
No. Obviously. I favor policies in general that aid those who need it most. Reducing income inequality is only one obvious way to help do that.
Mark Zuckerberg? Probably not directly; Facebook's employees are treated well, as far as I'm aware. But that's an awfully narrow example to cherry-pick. How about the Waltons, or Jeff Bezos? Employees in Wal-Mart stores and Amazon warehouses go without benefits, unemployment compensation, a living wage, and sometimes basic climate control, so that the wealthy can line their pockets.
The wealth of CEOs does not descend upon them from heaven as a divine reward for good management. Every million dollars they get is a million that is not being spent on compensating employees. (Or on growing the business, etc.) Obviously CEOs deserve compensation for their work just like anyone else, and I haven't done the math on how much the Waltons and Jeff Bezos are worth vs. how much it would cost to treat all of their employees decently; but when a boss is worth billions and their employees can't afford food or medicine for their children, it's obscene.
> 2. If policies to reduce income inequality made the poor worse off, would you be in favor of them?
No. Obviously. I favor policies in general that aid those who need it most. Reducing income inequality is only one obvious way to help do that.
You've got a "gotcha" planned here, I assume?