Thank you for this straightforward expression of the basic human desire for fairness.In this case that desire is simply to share in a modest way in the prosperity of your society, rather than watch endless streams of wealth flow up the hierarchy to the people at the top.

In the US those streams just keep on flowing. We do not see the resulting unbelievable wealth and extravagance of those at the top because they do not want us to, lest we "envy" them. And the media obliges their desire.

In most of Europe society reached a compromise in the last six decades between the desire of the powerful and well placed for endless acquisition and the need of the ordinary populace for a degree of fairness in distribution. They call it "social democracy".

This was wise on their parts, because it prevents the development of desperate poverty and hopelessness, which can lead to social instability.

And the result is that in Europe ordinary people live better than here. They have free health care, subsidized daycare, limited rights to keep their jobs (rather than employment terminable at the whim of the employer, as here). They have free college education for those qualified and a statutory right to a 4 to 6 week vacation, depending on the country. They pay for this in rather high taxes and sometimes in slower growth than here.

But come on people, for all of us, rich and poor, this is our one and only life that we're talking about! Even if I were not a social democrat, I believe that I, and lots of others in the USA today, would again be willing to see a bit of this kind of sharing be enforced so that that this one life should be a bit pleasanter for those on the bottom. Why we might even be willing to compromise a principle (the wonderfulness of laissez faire), out of this simple human fellow feeling!