Very good points and it would go a long way if those who thought that nurses and police men and fire fighters should be more fairly compensated for the risk they take vs a hedge fund manager comfortably leaning back in his leather chairs were rather taking concrete steps to even out such imbalance rather than standing in public and giving TED talks. Enough said.
There was a famous Diamond vs Water paradox that confused ancient economists or philosophers. What they grappled with was why is diamond more expensive when water is clearly more useful. Without diamond a person can live but without water a person cannot. The answer to that paradox actually is the answer to the above. Why is it that hedge funds managers earning so much more than nurses/fire fighters/teachers etc. Would you care to guess why it is so?