We Need an Economic Bill of Rights
Political rights are not enough. Economic rights — the right to home, food, health care, a union, and a safe and stable planet — should be our rallying cry for a just country and world.
Mark Paul is author of The Ends of Freedom: Reclaiming America’s Lost Promise of Economic Rights, and an assistant professor of economics at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Political rights are not enough. Economic rights — the right to home, food, health care, a union, and a safe and stable planet — should be our rallying cry for a just country and world.
Joe Biden’s first 100 days proposal for a Civilian Climate Corps to put Americans to work revamping infrastructure and fighting climate change, is nowhere near as ambitious as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, and nowhere near large enough for the crises we face.
With a carbon tax and dividend, we can fight climate change — and reduce inequality.
Giving everyone a job is the best way to democratize the economy and give workers leverage in the workplace.
Carbon pricing is a win for everybody — except for those who profit off environmental destruction.
Federal student loans facilitate a pernicious profit motive in higher education.