1. The systemic issue is that there is no one on earth who stops powerful companies and individuals from the reckless exploitation of the poor (and those who really think they aren't poor). No police, no government etc. seems to take care of this issue. Instead the majority of them is just a step-stone on the way for rich entities to gain much more power and wealth.
2. Of course it wouldn't be that obvious as an imbalance. It's a problem of distribution of wealth and the most important thing here is the ratio: - How many poor vs. how many (super) rich? - How much is the difference of their wealth and what consequences occur in their lives because of that?
As long as children starve because they don't have food in my opinion it's perverted and ugly that people have money they don't even know what to spend on. From the view of "overall fairness" it's so unfair that it's unbearable to keep that thought in your mind for a longer period if you have moral integrity (most humans have that in some way).
3. Government Programs huh? They aren't designed to be efficiently and they aren't backed by science. That's the case on most places on earth. Govt's seem to be controlled or at least influenced in many dimensions by "big money". When you look around the world, especially at democracies who demand to be democratic (wow!) you'll see the more wealth entities have, the more they can influence any political decision. I don't know how to break this devil's circle but if it doesn't happen I see a lot of (innocent) blood in the near future.
There has been discussions about the change of systems, governments and society for so long but the development is not happening in the way some big minds and honest people have hoped for.
E.g. everything that can be tagged with "social reforms" will be drowned in pseudo-arguments: * social = socialist = communist (even today you evoke fear with that in most US citizens and also parts of EU) * social = non-productive (no goods to sell); Too many have this micro-economic view and disregard the macro-economic effects * social = expensive when done in a proper way;
I could go on with this but it tires and saddens me to even think about it. I had to watch this the most of my life and while the elders had enough to live when I grew up today I see them scavenging in the city. It just get's worse and while this political way doesn't seem to work I think some day we'll reach a critical mass of hungry and angry people who will just take what they deserve.