Six years ago, Stockton became the first city in the nation to file for municipal bankruptcy. Now, it will become the first American city to experiment with a basic income program. Under a pilot program known as the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, or SEED, the government will start sending $500 checks every month to an unspecified number of recipients for nothing in return.
The program is expected to be up and running by August 2018 and would last for a period of three years, said Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. Most of the financing will come from basic income advocacy group Economic Security Project (ESP), which has pledged $1 million to support the experiment.
To call the project “bold” would be an understatement. While nonprofits have led similar experiments in Kenya, the Netherlands, Canada, and even Oakland, this is one of the first launched by a government agency and the only one of its kind in the U.S. It aims to draw a line -- a basic standard of income -- that people are entitled to.
Stockton will be watching closely to see how its recipients spend the cash and what, if any, impact it has on the city's economy at large. Ultimately, Tubbs hopes it could eliminate poverty and solve some of the city’s most pressing socioeconomic needs. The program will put Stockton “in the center of a national conversation ... on how folks can enjoy the American Dream we all hold so dear,” the mayor added.
Stockton’s experiment is already garnering international attention. But just how successful it can be remains to be seen. One of the biggest challenges with the program is making sure the monthly checks aren’t impairing other vital services, said Bill Mendelson, director of nonprofit Central Valley Low-Income Housing.
“If the money is going to conflict with a housing voucher and makes you ineligible, I would think you’d rather hold onto the housing voucher than a windfall for a short period of time,” Mendelson said.
Of course, once a basic income program is funded by revenue and not philanthropy, a whole new set of questions and challenges emerge. Of all cities, Stockton knows the risk of committing to spending it may not be able to afford down the line.
Read more at Vox, Business Insider, and the Stockton Record.