I don't buy the assertion that startups increase economic inequality. I mean, I suppose some of them might, but a few people getting rich by producing something

I don't buy the assertion that startups increase economic inequality. I mean, I suppose some of them might, but a few people getting rich by producing something of value doesn't equate to an increase in general poverty. A startup might even improve economic inequality. Depends what it does. The whole argument seems to boil down to a fear that improving the general welfare might involve slamming the brakes on innovation, but I don't see anyone making the argument that we should do that. If anything, poverty, and its associated problems, is itself a huge brake on innovation. How can you innovate if you're worried about feeding your family tomorrow? Wouldn't people be more likely to take risks like startups if they were less worried about the downsides, like losing their health insurance? Wouldn't there be more innovation if people didn't have to worry about starving because of going without a steady income for a couple of years?