The cynic in me thinks some politicians actually want more disparity, poverty and suffering. Why? Because those are the people who vote for them and keep them in office.
The only people who are nearly always OK despite wars, recessions, poverty and national disasters are the political class. They exist in virtual isolation from reality.
It's a really sick feedback loop: In order to stay in power you need people who are UNHAPPY with their lives, not happy. The unhappy masses will vote for whoever promises to improve their standing. Their "champion", if you will. Therefore, as a politician, you talk about doing things for them and after elections you drop them on their heads, pretend to do a few things when, in reality, you didn't make it better for anyone except yourself.
There are great examples of this in South American politics. They've been suffering from this problem for decades on end. This is like a virus that is hard to eradicate. Why? Because it is hard to make the masses vote for anyone but the person who tells them they are going to solve their problems and give them things. In other words, people don't make logical long-term decisions and continue in an endless loop despite the fact that things never get better for them.
I mean, pick a country and look at their "war on poverty". Not just the US. Everyone has a version of this. And the poor never get richer. It's pure pandering and manipulation. It's sick, really.