With reference to “In Defense of Scrooge,” there is more to say. Contrary to the implication of Dickens’s story, it is doubtful that anything a rich man does with his money can harm the poor, unless he uses it to pay for the initiation of violence. If he stores all of his money under his bed for his entire life, then it’s just that much money that’s been withdrawn from the monetary supply: an effective deflation, which may be minutely beneficial to everyone else. If he spends his money on goods, he is supporting the livelihood of various individuals; if the money is rediscovered after his death, then there is an effective reflation back to the original state. If he invests it, his money will be used to research ways to increase the standard of living, which also helps the poor. The plight of the of the poor would not have progressed more rapidly had the rich in the Industrial Age given large portions of their money to the poor as versus invested in capital. On this see, Mises.
