Silver Rights Legislation: An Economic Justice for Low-Income Workers

Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its companion legislation opened up economic opportunities for minorities, women, and other low-income workers, in reality few received meaningful economic benefits from the civil rights approach alone. Data seem to indicate that many of these workers are still lagging behind and facing increased economic insecurity. To rectify the problem, this article calls for adopting "silver rights" legislation for low-income workers in the coming years. "Silver rights" legislation focuses on economic opportunities for low-income workers and proposes establishing a fairer income distribution in the employment setting through (a) redesigning wage structures, (b) health provisions, (c) pension reform, and (d) tax reform.