So, before we got sidetracked by...other topics, I was evaluating Marianne Williamson's platform and her call for an economic bill of rights. This bill of rights was very much in the spirit of FDR's bill of rights, although I had some significant doctrinal differences between both Williamson and FDR's iterations of an economic bill of rights. That said, I want to outline my core vision for an economic bill of rights.
1) A right to a livable income
There is no excuse, in the 21st century, for poverty to still exist in industrialized countries. We launched a war on poverty 60 years ago and poverty won, not because poverty is unconquerable, but because we chose inefficient policies that could not finish the job. Welfare doesn't work, means testing doesn't work, conditional programs do not work. We need to guarantee ALL americans a right to an income at above the poverty level through the policy known as the universal basic income guarantee.
Policies to accomplish this: Universal basic income
2) A right to say no, not just to any job, but all jobs
America claims to be a country built on freedom, and an inalienable right to pursue one's happiness. Well, how can we claim to be free, when we are subjuct to these mini tyrannies known as workplaces. As long as people are coerced to work for some employer, they will be forced to take deals that they would otherwise refuse. The only way to free people from bad employers is by ensuring that they do not need any employer at all. This is not to say that people cannot seek jobs if they truly desire them, but people should not be forced into the work place. This right will be achieved by the universal basic income I advocate for above.
Policies to accomplish this: Universal basic income
3) A right to fair wages, working conditions, work life balance, and unionization
Even with a right to say no, we still need work done in society, and such a right may not be fully accomplishable in reality. While I advocate for it to the fullest extent possible, and believe in the long term we should aim for it, in the mean time, we do need policies to ensure that workers are treated as fairly as possible. As such, we should have laws giving people a reasonable minimum wage. We should have a right to safe working conditions. We should have a right to work fewer hours as productivity rises over time. And we should have a right to organize and form unions, and to collectively apply our bargaining power to labor disputes.
Policies to accomplish this: minimum wage, updated OSHA, updated FLSA, reduced work week and/or mandated vacation time, expanded union protection
4) A right to healthcare
The United States is the only country in the industrialized world that does not have a reasonable right to healthcare. And it's sickening. Tens of thousands die every year due to lack of health insurance. Many more cannot afford healthcare and ration medicines every month. Many more go bankrupt trying to pay for it. This is a market failure, a failure of the for profit business model. Everyone should have coverage, and the government should accomplish this through a robust public option at minimum, or a single payer healthcare system.
Policies to accomplish this: public option or single payer healthcare system, medical debt forgiveness
5) A right to higher education
College education being a universal right is important for several reasons. First of all, even with a universal basic income, jobs are still an important part of social mobility, and a right to education levels the playing field to allow people to seek the jobs that they want to work. Without a right to higher education, such an education becomes a privilege for only those who can afford it, and many are stuck in debt servitude trying to pay off their college education. College education is also important because in order for democracy to actually work properly, people need to be informed, and higher education gives people the crucial critical thinking tools for this to happen. As such, the government should provide a free higher education to every citizen, and wipe student loan debt clean.
Policies to accomplish this: free college, student debt forgiveness
6) A right to adequate housing
The housing market is broken and needs reform. We need to build more homes to meet demand for them, and we need to stop for profit agencies such as landlords, bankers, investors, house flippers, etc., from abusing the housing market for profit.
Policies to accomplish this: universal basic income, expanded housing program, land value tax on property owners who do more than simply live in their house
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These six rights are what I think should form the core of a 21st century economic bill of rights. However, there are other things raised by others that I think should be discussed, and I'll discuss them now.
A right to a job
I think a right to a job as a core right is a bit...suspect. A lot of people push for this, but they seem to be unable or unwilling to break the link between a job and income. This is my fundamental disagreement with a more traditional economic bill of rights. Jobs exist to make things, and i fear a hard right to a job would lead to a sisyphusian future in which we keep insisting on rolling rocks up hills for all eternity when instead of pursuing never ending economic growth, we should pursue a leisure ethic in which we work less. In other words, I fear it undermines the right to say no, implicitly.
I also do not think that it is possible to reasonably guarantee everyone a job, much less a job that is fulfilling. And I do not think the government should be in the business of making make work for its own sake.
Still, I am for the government trying to minimize involuntary unemployment, as it generally does, and to pursue policies aimed at minimizing involuntary unemployment among willing participants, just as it generally does not. Jobs are still socially useful, and if people want to do them for extra money, then so be it, there's nothing wrong with that. I just don't believe in forcing people.
A right to a clean environment
I fear this one would, once again, be construed to push for massive jobs programs and make work. While I support this idea implicitly and believe we should pursue some sort of program to avert the worst effects of climat change, I generally prefer a more moderate approach a la Build Back Better or Yang's 2020 plan, than a full green new deal. We can work out the details to this one.
A right to postal banking
Marianne Williamson proposed this one, and I really dont think this is important enough to be a right. Still, I like the idea and could see it working in conjunction with my UBI plan. Anyone who gets a UBI could get it direct deposited into a banking account through the postal service. And public banking probably wouldnt be subject to the same screwery as private banking.
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But yeah, that's my economic bill of rights, subject to changes and additions over time. But I think this is a good start. In short, I give people a right to an above poverty level income, a right to say no to not just any job, but all jobs, a right to a decent wage, working conditions, work life balance, and unionization, and rights to healthcare, higher education, and housing. I think this hits most of the basics, although we can continue to talk about expanding this further.
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