Is income inequality bad for a society?

Brainglutton, thank you for not saying anything of relevance or utility to the debate. Adam Smith’s preference for progressive taxation does not say anything about income equality’s good or bad effects. Nor does him pointing to the difficulties of the poor living up to a middle-class lifestyle in any way address the point.

I hear a lot of people say inequality is bad. When critically rpessed, they resort to hemming and hawing and talking about nonsequiturs.