You're forgetting some of Obama's biggest fans...the ones that don't work at all and just ask for free shit.
Who are you talking about?
There absolutely is justification.
Wildly different pay rates aren't a new invention, and they existed in every country that tried to be "fair."
Some skills are not in demand, some skills are. I work around a lot of software developers. Your average man off the street cannot walk in and write the software we need. Thus, they get paid $65/hour. They had to invest heavily in themselves in order to get their job.
I think most people would agree that some people are more intelligent, talented, or skilled than others or that some skills are in higher demand. Few of us have a problem with the people who have more to offer earing more. However, I dispute the idea that anyone's work is so important that they should earn exorbitant sums of money--more money than anyone could ever possibly used or need--at the expense of paying others a living wage.
Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts candidate for U.S. Senate (running against Scott Brown) said:
I hear all this, y'know well, this is class warfare...this is whatever. No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody...Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless. Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.
Elizabeth Warren on Debt Crisis, Fair Taxation - YouTube
We should also remember that the skills that are in high demand today could be obsolete in a few years. Or the jobs could be sent overseas. What's someone supposed to do after investing years in an education in a particular field and building a career in that field only to have the work dry up when the product becomes outdated and is replaced by new technologies (possibly emerging from other countries)?
How crazy does this sound: We'll raise taxes and improve the economic output of our country. Not only is that impossible, it is horrifically stupid. But, is it crazy? No. Its guided by political agenda. Maybe I've just spend a lot more time following these issues than the people on this board, but I don't even think the liberals are crazy. They are just horribly, horribly, horribly misguided and indoctrinated.
That's funny, I've always thought the same thing about conservatives.
With regards to the idea of raising taxes and improving the economic output of America...the idea, which you are crudely misstating, is neither horrifically stupid nor horribly misguided. The idea is to close tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy, particularly the richest 1%, in order to make sure the pay their fair share of taxes. (I won't get into the argument of exactly what their fair share should be at this time. The point is, right now they are paying relatively little, and in some cases less than people who earn far less money than they do.) That way the government (federal, state, and local) can continue to provide the services on which we all rely, and begin to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. This will create jobs and put money in the pockets of people who need money. People who
need the money will
spend the money, thereby increasing demand for goods and services. As demand increases, more jobs are created, and the economy grows.