Once again, Central Valley is denied badly needed help, this time for basic income plan
It was thrilling last month when seven guaranteed basic income pilot proposals were selected by the California Department of Social Services to receive $25 million in funding so that low-income residents could make ends meet.
.But none of that funding went to the Central Valley, the region we know to have the highest poverty in California.
Among the rejected applications was ours, crafted by a coalition of organizations including Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, United Way of Fresno and Madera Counties, and the Center for Community Voices at Fresno State. Our proposal focused on Fresno, home to the second-highest concentration of high-poverty neighborhoods in the nation — and that was true before we witnessed the second-highest increase in rents nationally during the pandemic. The state has so far offered no specific reason why the application was rejected.
As a key criterion to receive funding, the state agency had cited how basic income can be “a tool to advance equity for communities that have disproportionately been impacted by poverty and wealth disparities.” It is therefore puzzling that the most poverty-affected region of the state will benefit not at all from this program.
A recent report by the Little Hoover Commission noted that regional disparities in California are defined by how inland and rural communities have been left out of the state’s booming economic prosperity in the tech and manufacturing sectors, creating over time wide inequalities in income, wealth, education and social mobility, with many communities in the Central Valley, including Fresno, often ranked the lowest on these outcomes. This decision by state officials seems like more of the same. After a fiscal year that left the state with an incredible budget surplus that allowed for basic income pilots to move forward, the Central Valley was left out.
Over the past year, we spoke to several communities of Fresno residents who would be potentially eligible to participate in a basic income pilot, from farmworkers to college students to families living on the edge of poverty. Most of them said that a $500 monthly basic income would cover “some” of the gap toward meeting monthly expenses. Our pilot proposal to the state included $1,000 monthly basic income payments.
We need Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration to address this glaring gap. Just one week before the announcement, the governor was in Fresno and said: “You deserve more and we’re here in that spirit to enliven your confidence in Sacramento, that we have your back, that you matter.” We know from the listening sessions that we have held and co-facilitated that residents of Fresno are deeply fatigued from hearing these words and seeing no follow-through. The people need action, not words.
When we asked residents what they would do if they had financial stability and money to spend beyond basic needs, most expressed wanting to achieve security through stable housing and reliable transportation, happiness through spending more time with their families and taking vacations, and mobility through higher education and career development. We agree with Newsom: They do deserve more.
The answer to why the Central Valley struggles in the fifth-largest economy in the world can be found in the many times the region has been shut out.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Once again, Central Valley is denied badly needed help, this time for basic income plan."