Inequality: Two Schools Of Thought

"The problem is all those poor people dependent on the government."

There are many types of inequality.  Today I'm thinking about wealth/income inequality.  No one is advocating for "perfect" equality in this area.  It's impossible.  But reasonable spreads or distributions are possible.  We've had it before, and it's preferable and more beneficial than our present circumstances.  We're experiencing a second Gilded Age, and it has become a potent political and moral issue.  Against their wishes, even Republicans have been forced to reckon with it.

Wealth inequality doesn't "just happen" and it's not a self-correcting problem.  There seem to be two broad schools of thought on what should be done.  Briefly:

Liberals -- Increase the minimum wage, higher income tax rates on higher incomes, protect and expand organized labor, invest in education and infrastructure, and thereby create and maintain decent jobs with decent wages.

Conservatives -- Eliminate the minimum wage, lower income tax rates on higher incomes, get rid of organized labor, privatize education and everything else, and thereby somehow increase "opportunities."

Which one smells like trickle-down bullshit to you?