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CALIFORNIA
POLICY CENTER
groups or to broader swaths of society — embrace
the easy half of what Friedman had proposed and then conveniently ignore the tougher half. He wasn’t advocating a vast expansion of welfare payments — but replacing the gargantuan social-services bureaucracies with a system that was simpler, less costly, and encouraged individual responsibility. This idea serves as a useful thought experiment, but it wasn’t to see what was coming.
For instance, Senate Bill 739 explains, “To the extent authorized under federal law, the universal basic income provided by this project shall not be considered income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility to receive benefits or the amount of those benefits under the follow public social services, programs and financial aid.” That following list is extensive and includes most of the existing programs available to Californians.
Clearly, this proposal would offer a payment on top of everything else and wouldn’t replace anything. California’s vast array of public employees needn’t fear for their jobs. The private foundation that funded the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) that jump-started these UBI discussions a few years ago was also clear about its objectives: “We at SEED firmly believe that unconditional cash must supplement, rather than replace, the existing social safety net. As such, SEED took a series of steps, based on conversations with legal counsel, social service administrators, and other cash transfer pilots, to protect against potential benefits losses.” Obviously, this is about expanding the welfare state, not reforming it.
Certainly, private foundations can do as they choose, but this program offers the blueprint for taxpayer- supported programs such as the one approved by the Legislature. SEED and others have touted their success stories, but it’s not surprising that people who receive extra monthly cash are happy about their improved financial situation.
The problems are obvious. Small pilot programs aren’t going to impose major financial commitments on state and local governments, but they also aren’t going to boost the economic prospects for many people.
“California has the highest cost- of-living-adjusted poverty rate in America. There’s not enough money in Sacramento to make a dent in poverty this way.”
- Steven Greenhut
California has the highest cost-of-living-adjusted poverty rate in America. There’s not enough money in Sacramento to make a dent in poverty this way.
UBI sends the wrong message. As the Orange County Register opined, “It’s wrong to condition an ever- expanding swath of Americans to look toward the government for their sustenance. Employers already struggle to find sufficient workers because of generous COVID-19-related stimulus checks.” These programs “provide immediate help — but dissuade people from getting the job skills that will improve their long-term economic prospects.”
Some support for UBI comes from Bay Area tech leaders who, as that Stanford report quoted by the Assembly notes, “fear that automation may displace workers from the labor market at unprecedented rates.” In that case, UBI attempts to buy social peace by providing cash rather than opportunities to low- skilled workers. We can do better than that.
California’s progressive legislators continually drive up the cost of doing business through their endless tax increases and regulatory requirements, and they drive up the cost of living (especially housing) and destroy jobs with similar policies. Then they bemoan growing poverty rates and try to compensate with a series of additional handouts.
Universal basic income is a dangerous trend — and its supporters should not pretend that their current plans have anything to do with free-market principles.
Steven Greenhut is senior fellow and Western region director of the R Street Institute. He is responsible for overseeing R Street’s efforts in California, Oregon, Washington state, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii. His duties include authoring op-eds and policy studies, testifying before state and municipal legislative bodies and representing R Street as a speaker, public commentator and coalition ally in venues in which it is possible to move state and local policy in the Western region in a more free-market direction. Steven is a 2005 recipient of the Thomas Paine Award, granted by the Institute for Justice in recognition of his writing to promote liberty. In 2011, he placed second in the International Policy Network R.C. Hoiles Prize for Journalism. Steven received his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in 1982.
64 AUGUST 2021 - APARTMENT MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE AMM1/6