Excuse my ignorance, but I have an honest question. I assume that income inequality can be approximated by measuring the difference between the income of a cert

Excuse my ignorance, but I have an honest question. I assume that income inequality can be approximated by measuring the difference between the income of a certain group of high-earners and a certain group of low-earners. If the income of the low-earners is increased by mandate then wouldn't the entire system, over time, adjust upward? Wouldn't the difference between the two groups (income inequality) remain the same?