Keep in mind that many people who believe they're hitting the limits of their means simply don't have the personal will(not that it's their fault) to pick up that book which would tell them they could save enough and invest pretty well with some basic knowledge. And typically they wouldn't need to sacrifice quality of life.

I know lots of young people here in Canada at least work paycheck-to-paycheck but instead of buying stocks or at least saving, they will spend their unaccounted money on booze and video games(if they have any at all), it wouldn't take much for them to save up a couple thousand bucks and invest in something better for themselves. They just don't want to, or don't know how to make that sort of decision.

Then of course there are people who are ACTUALLY poor, that's where my empathy starts. I recently helped a homeless man work the computers at the local library(not that I consider that a significant act in itself), and I know just how hard it is to work with people who are seriously SOL; they're even resistant to help. That said, I don't think being harder on billionaires is going to help people down on their luck, it's only going to serve the egos of those who have no idea what it means to be in either of those positions.

EDIT: It seems people misunderstood what I meant by investment. I include in this investing in things like transportation, raw materials, and (if applicable) time off to pursue greater potential, and not just playing markets and buying shares.