Discrimination and exclusion affect the economic condition of people. Gender gaps, racism, classism, and homophobia are factors that significantly determine or affect people’s quality of life and economic condition.
Regarding the growth of left-wing governments on the continent, the Peruvian political scientist Alberto Vergara, in the newspaper El País, argues that the right has remained in the past, the issue is not fundamentally that the left has won the debate, but rather that the right did not understand the will to change, of a population in which very serious deficiencies persist. The right maintains the discourse of anti-communism, economic deregulation, traditional values and the idea that personal achievements are based on a purely individual issue, and not on the complexity of social structures.
Inequality matters. It is not just a matter of combating poverty, generating employment or marginally improving access to certain types of satisfiers. In fact, the central point is how to reduce inequality; if it is through transfers, public services, education, greater competition, etc. What is not possible is that economic growth is not inclusive or assume that the wealth that people can access is due exclusively to their effort or merit. Promoting entrepreneurship and liberalizing markets is not a way out to combat economic and social inequality.
Discrimination and exclusion affect the economic condition of people. Gender gaps, racism, classism, and homophobia are factors that significantly determine or affect people’s quality of life and economic condition. Gender agendas, the legal interruption of pregnancy, quotas, legislation against racial discrimination, recognition of different types of families, the construction and adaptation of public spaces and accessible transportation, are essential to reduce inequality and build a just society.
The income has to be taxed progressively. Taxes must be simple, their fundamental task is to generate resources for the State and they must be designed to affect economic activity as little as possible. But they must also serve as containment mechanisms against inequality. It is not valid that large companies and billionaires use their capacities to pay lower effective marginal rates than the rest of the population, nor is it valid that property is not progressively taxed according to international standards. In fact, it is necessary to establish a minimum tax floor for companies with high incomes, levies on inheritances and the wealth of billionaires.
A communist model is not being proposed, nor is the end of capitalism. But yes, another approach to it, that is, the generation of wealth subject to environmental restrictions, the correct operation of markets, free trade, are necessary to satisfy the demands of citizens. But the market has limits to achieve public objectives, such as reducing inequality and promoting rights, such as access to health, education, employment, or housing. For this, a strong and sophisticated state regulation is required. A State-market balance, where the State puts market regulation conditions first, to satisfy the basic needs of the population and reduce inequality gaps.
Twitter: @vidallerenas
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A graduate in Economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), he has a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Essex, United Kingdom, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Management from the University of York.