KEYNOTE: ADDRESSING AMERICAN WEALTH INEQUALITY

Authors

• Martha F. Davis

Abstract

As federal constitutional protections constrict and the Supreme Court sends critical issues back to the states, state constitutions offer vital tools for addressing wealth inequality. This article demonstrates how state constitutions—particularly the Massachusetts constitution—can serve as mechanisms for economic justice by examining three distinct pathways. First, it analyzes the Massachusetts Fair Share Amendment, showing how citizens can directly amend state constitutions to implement progressive taxation, generating revenue for education and transportation while redistributing wealth. Second, it explores underenforced constitutional provisions such as the state’s education clause, which establishes a mandatory duty to provide adequate and equitable schooling yet remains subject to minimal judicial scrutiny. Third, it considers dormant constitutional provisions like Massachusetts’ environmental rights clause, which could address wealth inequality indirectly by preventing the concentration of environmental hazards in low-income communities. Unlike the federal constitution, state constitutions frequently contain affirmative rights to education, environmental quality, workers’ protections, and welfare—and can be amended far more readily than their federal counterpart. This article argues that state constitutional advocacy represents an essential strategy for lawyers and activists seeking to combat economic inequality.

Recommended Citation

Martha F. Davis, KEYNOTE: ADDRESSING AMERICAN WEALTH INEQUALITY, 48 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 4 (2026), https://digitalcommons.wne.edu/lawreview/vol48/iss1/2