[DanaC]

That's several times now it's been referred to as comparisons between the top and the bottom.

Narrowing the gap is not about narrowing the gap between the poorest and the wealthiest. It's about narrowing the gap between the living standards/expectancy/opportunities of the most deprived and what we consider to be an acceptable minimum standard of living.

Measurements between the top and the bottom are pure political fodder - they are emotional appeals, based on an arbitrary and unjust sense of "fairness" that resonates with those who think they deserve what the few have.

Deserve what the 'few' have, like an extra decade of life and drastically reduced likelihood of heart disease? Deserve what the few have, like a childhood spent developing healthy teeth instead of severe dental caries by the age of 8? Deserve what the few have like a school which fosters ambition and success in its pupils? Deserve what the few have, like decent, clean and affordable housing?

It isn't even about deseving what the few have. Its about having a right to what the majority enjoy.

only meaningful measure of a society that cares for it's poor.

This isn't about a society 'caring for its poor'. This is about a society accepting wider responsiblity for the social conditions in which its people live, grow and die. This about a society saying this is the line we draw and beneath that we will not conscience our people to fall. They aren't 'The Poor', they are simply citizens of the same country.