>On the other hand, $200K combined income is about 4-5X as much as the national average.
>
>If most people get by on a small fraction of that, it is no major stretch of the imagination to consider that a lot of money.
>
>And this means that other people who don't work as hard a I do are entitled to a piece of what I have earned because?????????

I'm not sure of the logic that says that anyone who earns less than you (or I) doesn't work as hard. There are jobs where people work very hard for much lower salaries. There are people out there who work more than one job to make ends meet and still earn less than you or I.