The cost of living crisis is impacting residents across California, including many students in Ivanhoe who struggle to afford basic necessities while pursuing their education. A recent analysis suggests universal basic income could help.
According to a 2020 study by the California Budget & Policy Center, 18% of Tulare County residents live below the poverty line, including one in four children. With inflation sharply increasing family costs, more students are working long hours just to get by.
Data from the California Student Aid Commission shows the average tuition and fees at College of the Sequoias in Visalia rose 35% over the past five years to $1,675 per semester for county residents in 2022. Combined with living expenses, attending school full-time leaves little time for work or family responsibilities.
A 2021 report from, The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, can be used as a guide for the Ivanhoe Community Development Department, which will find housing, healthcare and transportation are increasingly unaffordable for local families. Nearly half of renters in the city spend over 30% of their income on housing, qualifying as “cost burdened.”
Universal basic income could help alleviate these financial stresses. The Economic Project modeled a $500 monthly payment to each adult and child in California. They estimate this would lift 2.9% of state residents out of poverty, including over 300,000 children.
Providing families with greater income stability allows struggling students to focus more on their education. With basic needs assured, many would choose to work fewer hours or not at all—opening opportunities for improved grades, health and well-being.
As California explores creative policy solutions, universal basic income deserves serious discussion. Our students’ futures depend on it.
Sources: West, S., Castro Baker, A., Samra, S., & Coltrera, E. (2021). Preliminary Analysis: SEED’s First Year (Publication). Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration. https://www.stocktondemonstration.org/#summary-of-key-findings
Editor’s note -Find Mr. Sanchez’ book on Amazon ” The Basis of Life: Necessities, Wants and Money ” and checkout his website: https://giovany55.wixsite.com/thebasisoflife, Twitter: @Gsan0030Sanchez
So how much of your own income are you willing to give up? The simple truth is that you are just plain stupid!
What aweful thing to say to person you dont know. Stupid is calling people stupid for simply for no reason. It’s ok though I always say, negatives come from negatives. I mean c’mon look at how this person without even knowing anything about me is willing to say something like that. Its testimony that there is something wrong. I mean the fact is, that we are already getting funding usurped from our paycheck, why not put it back in your pocket? We make 23+$ trillion a year and it would cost 7 trillion ~ for a UBI program and 3.6 trillion free health care system and 1 trillion for free education from preschool to university. We would still have enough for military , infrastructure, government funding, etc. I could be wrong but it’s just my opinion. Look up the info yourself sherlock.
The simple truth is that Dave M calls everyone stupid. He is an angry narcissist who thinks he is right and anyone else is wrong. You wrote a thought-provoking article, and I am sure it will generate many differing opinions. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, ideas and concerns with the readers. Any opinion worth having is an opinion worth sharing.
Look up bill AB-2712 California Basis Income.
You have to work. If you have a disability and can’t then— the government will help you with:ssi, food stamps, cheap housing, health care etc. Minimum wage is like $20 hr in fast food. You have to live with friends or family if you cant make it on your own and that will also help them too. Life isn’t fair. Some people are: born into wealth, poverty or have nobody but themselves. One thing you can’t do is– drink, do drugs, gamble, get a criminal record or have kids unless your financially stable because thats a ticket to the poor house for sure. some people make a lot of money and are broke and some minimum wage and build wealth. my late mother was a single mother in the 1950s with 2 babies to feed and at that time women were discriminated against and there was no food stamps or really any government help. And, her husband at the time went to prison and had to live with the guilt and shame in a small town. if my late mother could do– it anybody can.
That was our world, life WAS harder for most, it was a world of live and learn. The children of the greatest generation had more than their parents ever did. The children of the baby boomers (my generation) had more than their parents ever did ….. and each generation since has had more given to them, both materially and financially. Thanks to the internet everyone has access to educational materials and online classes at education institutions. If you don’t own a computer or cell phone there are public libraries with free access to computers. If something isn’t worth working for, fighting for, sacrificing for but given free it won’t be valued as much. I’m not saying it won’t be appreciated to some degree, but for most it won’t be “valued” as much. Just my opinion.
No one deserves anything for free. Somebody has to pay for it. Taxpayers that works very hard every day for their families.
UBI is only effective if the financing is coming from the upper classes. Middle and working class Americans will never support it if it increases their taxes, nor should they be expected to pay for it. UBI necessitates a huge redistribution of wealth from the upper classes, and this money is much better spent by working class Americans who will circulate it through the economy. Mass accumulations of wealth are only acquired through exploitation and are the enemy of American freedom and meritocracy