The mayor of Stockton in California has proposed new programs that would pay a select group of residents $500 month as guaranteed basic income, and one that would also pay stipends of up to $1,000 a month to residents considered a “high risk” to potentially shooting another person.
Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs has proposed an 18-month guaranteed basic income pilot program that would give a select group of residents $500/month as guaranteed basic income, to spend as they see fit, the L.A. Times reported.
Column: Stockton’s young mayor has bold turnaround plan — Basic income and stipends for potential shooters https://t.co/QsxslQJ3nK pic.twitter.com/sCzQ9Kl83r
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 28, 2018
The second pilot program, Advanced Peace, would allocate stipends of up to $1,000 a month to residents considered a high risk to potentially shooting another individual.
Advanced Peace is modeled after a crime reduction program in the Bay Area city of Richmond.
The theory behind the concept is that offering these individuals an alternative path, which includes counseling and case management over an 18-month period, along with a stipend might show a positive improvement and a reduction in crime.
Tubbs, 27, a Stockton native and Stanford graduate, said this is a way to offer residents an alternative path in life.
“Let me be clear, Advance Peace is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Participating in this program doesn’t erase the past, but it does help these young men learn how to make better choices for their own and our community’s collective future,” Tubbs explained on Stockton’s public safety website.
When Tubbs introduced the program this year, he made it clear that taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for any of his proposed pilot programs.
Tubbs said the stipend idea is not a new concept that both Finland and Canada have used.
There are still a lot of details to be worked out, especially regarding who would be eligible to participate, he said.
Tubbs expects Stockton’s program to launch early next year as a small program.
