It will discriminate between better established academics and those beginning their carrers. In addition, it will discrimnate against those in industry: the editors WILL press you to pay 'cause you are in teh commercial sector, so your company HAS money and SHOULD pay. Pure socialism, if you ask me: one might submit a paper, and should be able to do so, without the superiors' knowledge.
The point is, that there may be pros and cons to this, but the article and proponents do not address the cons. In fact, it's been my observation that this movement towards e-journals stems from the Leftist ideology: I've heard it stated that they want to cut out the publishers' profits ("What is the justification for charging the library $500/year for a subscription? None. Instead of feeding the fat cats we should be able to do it ourselves.)
It is a bigger issue than just trying to get out of paying what is often a subscription cost closer to $1000, not $500. With the proliferation of online journals, including those journals w/print and online versions, libraries have to:
1. decide if they can afford both formats
2. if they opt for the online version, they only have a license for use for that year. once the license is up, the library patrons no longer have access to that journal. previously, if a library stopped paying for a journal, all of the past years' print journals would be available. however, if the license lapses, you have NO access, even to journals for the years for which you had the license.
3. because students and scholars prefer the ease of access of online resources, libraries often feel they must license the online versions. this move to online resources is costing libraries thousands each year - and decreasing the amount of books and other non-electronic resources (including librarian services) that they can purchase.
It is not just some feel good socialistic desire to 'stick it to the man,' that prompts this effort to provide less expensive research.
There have been major changes in academic publishing in the past 10 years or so. Due to increased specialization, there are many more journals. At a research institution, everyone wants 'their' journal, not just 'a' journal in their field. The move to online resources - driven by patrons - creates hard choices for libraries of all types and budgets.
I think the cost of author's publishing could be borne by the grant funding the research, as someone posted above. In addition, it does seem they are willing to work with a sliding scale. Finally, you don't have to publish in this journal. There are plenty of others out there.