Mayor Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento has proposed a Guaranteed Basic Income for Artists. Yes, the city proposes to provide government assistance payments to those who do not need it and are self-sufficient.
Guaranteed income schemes frequently divert funding away from the most disadvantaged, who are most likely in need of assistance. This government slush money is the reason why so many able-bodied employees are choosing to stay at home rather than work.
Stimulus Check Will Be Provided To Struggling Artists
Most struggling artists, including musicians and performers, supplement their income by working another job until they are established. There are lots of jobs available since the labor market is so stifled as a result of the continued government stimulus checks and unemployment checks.
Universal and guaranteed income systems have been demonstrated in studies to dramatically reduce real yearly hours worked by income recipients. People are working fewer hours and opting out of labor entirely, as seen by the COVID stimulus checks.
The COVID-19 Stimulus Package, also known as the American Rescue Plan, is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus check bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2021, ostensibly “to speed up the country’s recovery” from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession.
Mayor Steinberg is equating the few folks who were one paycheck away from becoming homeless with Sacramento’s 11,000+ heroin and meth-addicted, mentally ill, formerly jailed homeless.
However, the allure of a regular supply of government funds for homelessness is winning out over any meaningful plan to assist these people effectively off the streets. Furthermore, providing them with subsidized or free residence does not address the underlying cause(s) of their homelessness.
In Sacramento, one of the most expensive rental towns in the country, this implies more and more subsidized housing. In Sacramento, a one-bedroom apartment costs an average of $2,211 a month. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $2,827 per month.
Sacramento taxpayers will be required to support these average rates for people who are now living on the streets, in tents, campers, vans, and their automobiles.
