Suzanne's Mom's Blog

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Michael Stubbs, mayor of Stockton, California, is following through on fresh ideas, including college scholarships for high school graduates and a pilot program on basic income.

The 20-something mayor of Stockton, California, is determined to try things to benefit residents that older heads have shied away from. He’s a good example of how being young and not knowing what’s impossible can lead to success.

Tonja Renée Stidhum writes at Blavity, “Michael Tubbs made history by becoming Stockton, California’s first African American mayor, and youngest mayor ever to serve a city with a population of over 100,000 people. The 27-year-old, who recently launched an initiative to provide basic income to help Stockton residents maintain a stable living, has now announced a plan to help his city’s students afford college, and that the initiative has received a $20 million grant.

“In a press release sent to Blavity, the mayor’s office outlined Tubbs’ new ‘Stockton Scholars‘ initiative, which will provide all graduates from Stockton Unified School District with college scholarships. Students heading to four-year institutions will receive $4,000 ($1,000 per year) and those going to two-year schools will receive $1,000 ($500 a year). The program will begin in 2019. …

“Mayor Tubbs said, ‘The tallest building in Stockton is also our newest – a courthouse, which cost $300 million to build. Surely, we can raise just one-third that amount to drive our youth towards a better future.’

“The money from the $20 million grant will last for ten years — however, raising an additional $80 million will allow the program to be sustained indefinitely, and will allow the city of Stockton to offer the scholarship not just to students of the Unified School District, but all of the city’s students. …

“Lange Luntao, a Unified School District school board member said. ‘This community refuses to allow our past to dictate our future.’ ” More here.

Curious about the basic-income experiment? Vibe reports, “Announced in October 2017 with the assistance of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and others, the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) will provide 100 people of different income levels with $500 a month for three years.”

I wrote about basic-income initiatives in Finland and Kenya, here.