> "The problem comes down to this: My annual earnings equal about 1,000 times the U.S. median wage, but I don’t consume 1,000 times more pillows than the average American. Even the richest among us only need one or two to rest their heads at night."<p>I still can't believe the number of times I've seen this "argument" used, given how silly it is.<p>Why is it silly? Because, it's saying "I'm willfully ignoring the wealthy person who invests in creating a new 800-room hotel, where each room will get 2-4 pillows, each. Now, I'm a person who earns 1,000 times, and will consume anywhere from 1,000-16,000 more pillows than the average American per year, assuming the average American uses their pillow for 5 years vs. the hotel which will have to replace them annually (or sooner)."<p>If you look at the spending of a wealthy person by examining their personal, individual spending, alone, you're missing the macro effect of wealth. Look at what they spend their money on as a whole, and you'll see that there is an inequality in value created vs. wealth - having 100x more wealth does not mean being able to create 100x more value - it's not linear - with more wealth, you can create disproportionally more value, and that's why the wealthy are happy to continue to subsidize the poor's existence because overall, there's a bigger benefit.