>Yes, poor people are better off in absolute terms than 200 years ago

Not than poor people 200 years ago, than kings 200 years ago. No king of early 1800s could have tropical fruits, antibiotics or an entire library of human knowledge at his fingertips.

>Why is income inequality so bad?

Does a burger taste any worse if you know someone's having caviar?

Also, how would you compare today's wealth inequality with that of 200 years ago, when peasants, being some 90% of the population, didn't own nearly anything at all?