Income inequality has become such a hotly debated issue that even President Obama gave a speech about it. The fact is, in the US, the top 10% of income earners control 75% of the wealth.
The two obvious questions are: why is it happening, and what should we do about it.
It's not like there are no jobs available. Go to Monster.com and search for "software engineer". There are thousands of job openings, and these are highly paid jobs. Why would someone work for Walmart at minimum wage when he could get a job as a software engineer for $80,000 a year or more?
It's not like education is expensive. It's free (through 12th grade). And a 2- or 4-year degree in Computer Science at a State school is not terribly expensive (you don't need a Harvard degree).
So... why would someone choose to work at Walmart and make $20,000 or less a year?
It's because of lack of interest and drive. Lack of fascination with mathematics in 8th grade. Lack of obsession with science in 12th grade. If those subjects never resonated and piqued your interest, you just wouldn't study them. With lack of study and practice comes lack of talent. And with lack of talent you can't get a high paying job.
Where do interests and drives come from? They are subconscious (as scientists will tell you) and thus innate. In other words, they are genetic. We are born unequal in our genes, and thus have different interests and obsessions, and thus different talents.
So what should we do about it? There is only one answer: income redistribution from the genetic haves to the genetic have-nots. If you lack the right genes through no fault of your own (i.e. you were born without the right interests and motivations), then it's unfair that those who were born with the right interests get all the income. The rich should be heavily taxed to support the poor. This will help alleviate income inequality.
The first step is that we must acknowledge that human society is like a bee colony. People are born to fill specialised roles.
Some enjoy the adulation of crowds and are comfortable speaking in public. Others are shy and crave a pat on the back from their boss. This distribution of traits allows society to scale up. Without specialised roles and actors, we'd still be living in small tribes of hunter-gatherers without cities and modern life.
But it's not fair when certain innate roles are paid more than other roles, and the resulting income inequality must be addressed.