Alternative Title

An Economic Bill of Rights Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.

Publication Date

Spring 5-2018

Abstract

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prescribed that we add an economic bill of rights to the U.S. Constitution. A King-Inspired bill of rights should include a constitutional amendment that enumerates a natural human right to be free from economic poverty, and appropriate enforcement legislation.

For the sake of abolishing slavery, the Thirteenth Amendment says:

(Section 1) Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

(Section 2) Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Similarly, for the sake of abolishing poverty, a King-Inspired Amendment should say:

(Section 1) Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, nor economic poverty, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

(Section 2) Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Legislation appropriate to King’s prescriptions for abolishing economic poverty will seek to “create incomes” by providing well-paid jobs and new forms of work that “enhance the social good” supplemented by “guaranteed income” for all and special measures for those who are disadvantaged (MLK Jr.).

Document Type

Article

Keywords

abolition of poverty, economic poverty, economic bill of rights, human rights, International Covenant for Social, Economic and Cultural Rights

Disciplines

African American Studies | American Studies | Applied Ethics | Civil Rights and Discrimination | Constitutional Law | Digital Humanities | Economics | Economic Theory | Ethics and Political Philosophy | Human Rights Law | Income Distribution | Intellectual History | Law | Natural Law | Philosophy | Political Economy | Political History | Religion Law | Social Welfare Law | Supreme Court of the United States | United States History

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