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Economic Freedom
Racism is baked into every system that provides the foundation for modern American life. Not only are these systems not inclusive, but many were also specifically designed to be used against black Americans to maintain perpetual disparities in all forms. This must end. Black people deserve the right to be secure in their personhood without interference. As policymakers take steps to ensure immediate reforms, it is imperative that they consider the interrelated crises of wealth inequality, racism, and generational poverty endured by black people.
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Unconstitutional Policies
The Right to Inclusive Economic Opportunities
The Web of Inequality In Government Infrastructure
Vulnerable populations are susceptible to greater environmental health risks. Our political leaders should statutorily recognize that every human being has the right to affordable housing, access to clean water, air, and food adequate for human consumption. An ethical rationale for providing protections to vulnerable communities is to ensure that the overall health of human life is fully supported and protected fairly.
Systemic inequality and decades of over-criminalization have resulted in a generational lack of access to vital resources that leads to a life sentence of poverty. The use of criminal background checks, even for the smallest of infractions can lead to a person being denied employment, unable to rent or buy a home and even prevent you from being admitted into college. Ending the entrenched structural racism of this nation in a concerted way is the only way to fortify and create a truly equitable society.
Generational Poverty
- Childcare: A parent’s ability to provide for their family empowers communities. Policymakers must take decisive and aggressive action to stabilize the child care system. Children of color with disabilities are overrepresented within the special education population and disciplined at higher rates.
- Education: Leadership needs to address persistent historic gaps in opportunity for nonwhite students. The various ways in which the educational repayment system – and the collections practices that fuel it – harm impacted communities.
- Housing, Lending & Zoning: Generational wealth starts with the ability to own real estate. Despite the protection of the Fair Housing Act, banks, financial firms, real estate agents and other parties have effectively worked to prevent minority populations’ access through discrimination. This causes a detrimental impact on marginalized communities, in particular black households, because they limit affordability and the number of viable rental and housing opportunities.
Denial of Employment & Criminalization
- Fair and Equitable Hiring Practices: Essential to acquiring economic freedom, many laws constantly undermine and deny black people the basic rights and protections that have been promised under the law. The use of monetary bail, unnecessary pretrial incarceration, the Justice/Bail System, an asset for forfeiture, and a one- size- fits all system for criminal justice fines and related fees can have a devastating long-lasting effect.
- Prison & Judicial Related Economic Reform: In many cases, if the police believe you’re involved with a crime, they can take your money, cars, or home even if you’re never actually charged or convicted of a crime. To get your property back from civil court, often the legal fees to retrieve your property are more expensive than the property itself.
- Criminalization of Sex Work: Sex work is work. The criminalization of sex fosters abuse and exploitation but does not address why people trade sex, which is largely predicated on economic need. Life-altering events that lead to economic vulnerability overwhelm susceptible black, brown, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities, entangling them in the criminal justice system. A full decriminalization stance is backed by many human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the World Health Organization.