> "But, a maximum wage is a ridiculous rebuttal, IMHO."
Of course you're entitled to your opinion, but let's look at why a maximum wage can be used to tackle economic inequality, perhaps you'll not think it's quite so ridiculous after that.
> "The actual problem, as I see it, or, at least the variable that needs adjusting is the other side."
The main reason that a maximum wage impacts the poorest amongst us is that it provides a mechanism by which poverty and wealth can be linked.
For example, let's say every US state adopts a $15 per hour minimum wage. Let's now state that the maximum wage is set at 500x the minimum wage, so $7500 per hour. If the minimum wage worker works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, they'll get $31,200 per year (before tax). If the maximum wage worker works the same number of hours they'll earn $15,600,000 (before tax). Let's say the bottom rate of tax is 15%, and the top rate of tax is 40%. What does that leave us with...
The minimum wage worker earned $26,520 a year.
The maximum wage worker earned $9,360,000 a year.
What we've set here are upper and lower bounds on how much someone can earn. Notice that we still have the rich and the poor, and we haven't taken away the incentive to want to get rich. What we have done is slowed down the rate at which the gap between the rich and poor grows, which is at the core of economic inequality. Inherited wealth is also an issue, but at least it would tackle the rate of change in newly generated wealth.
What does this do to an economy? First of all, the rich now have an extra incentive to raise the income of the poor. If the rate between the minimum and the maximum wage is fixed, raising the minimum wage will also raise the maximum wage. Secondly, it channels money that is more likely to have been hoarded back into economic activity. Money only works when it is traded, not when it is hoarded, hoarding past a certain level of security is a waste of economic potential.
> "Almost nobody who is poor wants to limit how much money someone can make; it's an irrelevant detail...most poor folks just want an opportunity to escape being poor, themselves."
I'm reminded of this...
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/328134-socialism-never-took-...
Being on the poor end of the spectrum leaves you more vulnerable to economic exploitation. If a maximum wage reduces the incentive for economic exploitation, then I see no reason why it wouldn't be welcomed. If you want a concrete example of economic exploitation, take a look at Walmart:
http://www.alternet.org/labor/ugly-walmart-truth-some-manage...
> "rents are being driven up through a variety of circumstances mostly outside the control of the people those rising rents most impact"
Setting a maximum wage would impact the concentration of resources such as housing. More landlords = more competition = more price stability.