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The Poverty Of Academic Rhetoric, Frederick Mark Gedicks

Mercer Law Review

Erwin Chemerinsky puts forth the unlikely proposition that now is the time to develop a revitalized argument for a constitutional right to subsistence- level entitlements. While not detailing the actual content of such an argument, he outlines what he believes to be the necessary steps of the argument, leaving for another day the task of actually defining and defending those steps. In Chemerinsky's view, the argument would entail recognition that (i) [p]overty and the plight of the poor are serious social problems; (ii) the government has a responsibility to provide individuals with the essentials that are necessary for survival; (iii) …