Social Justice Activism

being" through increasing functionings (the things a person values doing), capabilities
(the freedom to enjoy functionings) and agency (the ability to pursue valued goals).
When a person's capabilities are lowered, they are in some way deprived of earning as
much income as they would otherwise. An old, ill man cannot earn as much as a
healthy young man; gender roles and customs may prevent a woman from receiving an
education or working outside the home. There may be an epidemic that causes
widespread panic, or there could be rampant violence in the area that prevents people
from going to work for fear of their lives. As a result, income inequality increases, and it
becomes more difficult to reduce the gap without additional aid. To prevent such
inequality, this approach believes it is important to have political freedom, economic
facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees, and protective security to
ensure that people aren't denied their functionings, capabilities, and agency and can
thus work towards a better relevant income.
Policy Responses Intended to Mitigate
No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its
workers has any right to continue in this country.
—President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933
A 2011 OECD study makes a number of suggestions to its member countries, including:
Well-targeted income-support policies.
Facilitation and encouragement of access to employment.
Better job-related training and education for the low-skilled (on-the-job training)
would help to boost their productivity potential and future earnings.
Better access to formal education.
Progressive taxation reduces absolute income inequality when the higher rates on
higher-income individuals are paid and not evaded, and transfer payments and social
safety nets result in progressive government spending. Wage ratio legislation has also
been proposed as a means of reducing income inequality. The OECD asserts that
public spending is vital in reducing the ever-expanding wealth gap.
The economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty recommend much higher top
marginal tax rates on the wealthy, up to 50 percent, 70 percent or even 90
percent. Ralph Nader, Jeffrey Sachs, the United Front Against Austerity, among others,
call for a financial transactions tax (also known as the Robin Hood tax) to bolster the
social safety net and the public sector.
The Economist wrote in December 2013: "A minimum wage, providing it is not set too
high, could thus boost pay with no ill effects on jobs....America's federal minimum wage,
at 38% of median income, is one of the rich world's lowest. Some studies find no harm
to employment from federal or state minimum wages, others see a small one, but none
finds any serious damage."
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