Almost six years after a judge declared Stockton, Calif the most populous US municipality to ever declare bankruptcy, the city has struggled through a painful Chapter 9 restructuring, but its primarily agriculture-based economy remains mired in poverty.
As KQED News explains, Stockton residents are struggling with stagnant wages, rising home prices due to the city’s proximity to Silicon Valley and a loss of middle class jobs – all against a backdrop of the looming threat of automation. The city first filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
The pervasive poverty in his city is what led Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs to announce last year that the city would soon begin an interesting social experiment.
Starting later this year, a random sample of 300,000 Stockton residents will receive $500 every month with no strings attached. The program is set to become the US’s largest experiment with a policy that has become a favorite topic of Mark Zuckerberg and his Silicon Valley peers: Universal Basic Income.
Continue reading “Six Years After Bankruptcy, Stockton Is Preparing To Start Handing Out Free Money”
