Why do you bring in the unequal distribution of newly created wealth when I'm talking about average people being better off decade over decade? Seriously, if I have a glass of water in front of me and you are thirsty, do you lament this unequal distribution of water? No, you ask your waiter, find a drinking fountain, or obtain water some way somehow. The people on the way to the top, and the ones there actually providing a net benefit to society, just figured out a way to create an unequal benefit for themselves and whomever was without whatever they were offering. They didn't look at any charts that told them their net wealth vs others was too high. If someone uses "free" public services to generate some of their wealth, then we should charge for those services and subsidize those who can't afford them. We can afford Subsidies because wealth is not a fixed pie! Let entrepreneurs create wealth and tax them in a way that promotes more wealth creation.