And, Racial and gender governmental justice key to curbing corporate power and eliminating state-sponsored wealth extraction – economic equity in policy key

[Jhumpa, “Exploring Guaranteed Income Through A Racial And Gender Justice Lens,” Roosevelt Institute, June 2019 https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RI_UBI-Racial-Gender-Justice-brief-201906.pdf, accessed June 26, 2023, GDS-LL]

Eliminating State-Sponsored Wealth Extraction Policies That Are Executed through the Criminal Justice System

We must recognize and eliminate the ways in which our state and local governments continue to strip and extract wealth from communities of color and women through our criminal justice system. The move towards mass incarceration and the criminalization of poverty have led to what amounts to debtor’s prisons where people are incarcerated simply because they cannot afford to pay a fine or fee or post bail (Los Angeles Times Editorial Board 2019). States and municipalities have to stop balancing their budgets on the backs of poor people of color and women through oppressive fines and fees, and we need to end the practice of money bail. Recognizing and eliminating all of the ways in which government extracts wealth from poor communities of color is a key step in reaching racial and gender equity.

Curbing Corporate Power

Policymakers and the public at large have to also take a hard look at how corporate America’s profit-motive outweighs the need to protect and care for people. The prioritization of profits over people has led to unprecedented levels of corporate power and greed, has left working people with little to no power, and has forced most of us to live deeply constrained lives with little to no room for economic mobility. By taming the power of those at the top of our economy and reviving worker power, we can build an economy that works for the many, not the few who can pay to play.

CONCLUSION

The pursuit of racial and gender economic equity should guide every single economic policy debate. A better nation is possible, and we need to have the tough conversations to get there. To achieve an inclusive, more equitable economy, we stop relying on single policy interventions and recognize—and implement—the plethora of complimentary approaches that are capable of redefining the American economy and our society.

Racial and gender justice cannot be achieved without economic justice. By tackling wealth inequality through a tiered guaranteed income program, we can create the conditions where everyone in the US truly has the ability to build wealth and thrive.