How would you respond to the criticism that dividends paid out simply reduce the remaining value of the shares (since the cash that left means the company is worth that much less), and that unless you own those shares in a tax-deferred account, dividends are much less tax-efficient (you have to pay tax in the year you receive them, and at least in the US it's at the higher tax rates of wage income; whereas capital gains are taxed only when realized, and at preferentially lower rates)?