Access Costs as Justice Investments

Ableist economics frames accessibility as an optional add-on—a cost burden to minimize. Zera Yacob's commitment to justice invites reframing: accessibility is not a luxury but a prerequisite for disabled people's economic participation. Wheelchair ramps, ASL interpreters, accessible technology, and reasonable workplace accommodations are justice investments, not expenses to begrudge. This principle applies to Money and disability by establishing that disability-related costs—adaptive equipment, personal assistance, medical care—should not fall exclusively on disabled people, impoverishing them. Instead, society should recognize these as collective obligations, funding accessibility through redistributive taxation and universal benefit systems. Employers should budget accommodations as necessary business costs. Educational and financial institutions should ensure disabled people can participate equally without financial penalty. This concept reframes the political economy of disability: who bears accessibility costs reveals whose lives matter. Justice-oriented economics ensures that access costs are distributed equitably, allowing disabled people to participate in economic life without being crushed by expense.