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ENEWS. From Senior Coastsiders‘ March 2024 Newsletter “The Beacon” , by Executive Director, Sandi Winters.
Nearly half of all households in the US – including many older adults in our own Coastside community – don’t have $400 in cash on hand to deal with an emergency or unexpected bill. Financial insecurity is one of the top concerns for many older adults, particularly in San Mateo County which has greater income inequality than any other county in California.
The average income of the top 1% of residents is nearly 50 times greater than the average income of the bottom 99%. I’m part of the leadership of the Age Forward Coalition – a broad consortium of San Mateo County nonprofit and community organizations that advocates for increased funding to maintain, protect, promote, and enhance equitable services and support for older adults in our County. In January we selected four advocacy issue areas for 2024 and these include transportation, caregiving, coordination of services, and Universal Basic Income (UBI) for older adults.
UBI is a regular, unconditional cash payment that is made monthly to a defined group of people. UBI experiments have been conducted in countries as different as Kenya, Finland, Namibia, India, and Canada. In the United States a successful pilot project was conducted here in the Bay Area. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) gave 125 randomly selected families $500 per month for 24 months as part of a mayor-led program.
The results were dramatic. In addition to experiencing less income volatility, SEED participants were more likely to find full-time employment. Participants found they had resources and time for things like job training that could advance them to more secure positions. They also reported enhanced well-being, and less anxiety and depression.
In August 2023 in San Mateo County, former US Representative Jackie Speier and San Mateo Supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller announced a pilot UBI program that will provide $300 a month to 200 families with children aged 0-3 years who qualify through Medicaid.
The Jackie Speier Foundation is putting up $350,000, while the county will provide the other $350,000. The Age Forward Coalition is going to advocate for a similar program for older adults in our County.
I’m interested in your thoughts on this and happy to speak with you – just let me know.
Author: Coastside Buzz
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