Now is a good time to invest in Iowans

“The most important thing I want you to remember about me when you leave here tonight is that I am a trauma survivor, a survivor of the foster care system, of domestic violence, and a recovery warrior. I am a single mom of two amazing children.” The strong woman with a flower printed dress and black cardigan paused before she stated why she applied for the program. “I wanted an opportunity to grow and become a better example for my children.”

Skye was one of 110 UpLift participants randomly chosen from 6,000 applications across Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties this past year. UpLift, also known as the Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot, is studying the potential impact that basic income projects could have on poverty in Iowa.

Poverty is a complex problem and is often cyclical and generational. In the United States, poverty is further complicated by historic and ongoing systems of oppression and the myth of “pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps.” Basic income projects similar to UpLift have shown benefits of these programs that were designed to reduce poverty.

It is reckless, but consistent with recent behavior, that the Iowa Legislature banned municipal and county funding of these programs before the Iowa specific data were collected and analyzed.

HF2319 was signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds two weeks before the first anniversary of the UpLift program. Republicans who voted for the bill cite that such programs are a waste of taxpayer money and are “ driving people away from work.”

Yet sixty-eight percent of the Iowans participating in UpLift are employed full-time or part-time. And $500 a month may be enough to get kicked off public benefits programs but it is not enough to entice participants to stop working.

In fact, many participants have been able to increase their ability to work, or improve the quality of work they are doing. “Even the stories we hear from our own participants is that they are able to make car payments so that they can go to work in the first place, to put gas in their car, that they are able to buy professional work clothes, and that they are able to show up to work in a way that they want to be present,” says Michael Berger, UpLift Project Coordinator. “So what it means for a healthy workforce is that when people have more flexibility with these funds, it has a multiplier kind of effect when we look at small businesses and the money that is retained within the community.

City officials involved with the project, unlike the state legislature, point to the need for additional data. Mike Jones, mayor of Windsor Heights stated “ our council believes that data informed decision making will determine the best ROI on any program or policy solution to address needs within our community. And these data are exactly what the program is trying to produce.

UpLift “is a research study. Our agenda here is to produce Iowa specific data to inform decisions and policies and programs,” Ashley Ezzio, Senior Project Coordinator for the UpLift program told me. And she wants legislators involved in the dialogue. “Our intention has remained the same since the beginning, we want them involved, we want to talk, we want to hear everyone’s opinions, thoughts, concerns and successes. We want to share those, we invite them in to truly understand what we are doing.”

Research in Stockton, CA demonstrated that basic income pilots resulted in participants that were twice as likely to gain full time employment, and that money is spent on food and other needs, as opposed to alcohol or tobacco. Anecdotally, the programs help the mental health of participants as well. “Having this money that I can count on helps ease some of that stress and that anxiety and the frustration that I have every single month when it comes to my financial stability,” Skye told the Community Conversations audience at the Windsor Heights Community Center. Berger was touched by the determination of the participants. “I am always just inspired by our participants. It was so incredible to see how much hard work and effort and motivation that our participants have with their participation in this pilot.”

The hope and investment of basic income programs are felt at multiple levels. “This really is spurring local entrepreneurship, and folks are finding better ways to give back to their communities and to be productive members. I think that really speaks to the impact it has on people” explains Ezzio. “I think about Sheila, one of our participants. She is caring for her grandchildren while having a son in college, what she is providing and the stability she has is impacting her son, and also impacts a whole other generation of her grandchildren and what she is able to give them. Not only is Sheila this entrepreneur, and doing things, but those kids are going to see long term impacts of this too.”

Another participant, Kelli, wants people and policymakers to know “the impact that it's made on our lives and our children's lives and our family's lives, it's just to give that person hope, give them that chance to be able to lift themselves up, because not only are you lifting them up, you're lifting their children up. You're lifting the family up. You're lifting the neighborhood up. You know, you're lifting the community up.”

Those who have never experienced poverty cannot fully appreciate the delicate balancing act that drives difficult financial decisions, and the burdens that restrictions and bureaucratic application and maintenance procedures are. Making decisions based on false assumptions about participant behavior and without data on the return on investment of basic income programs is a disservice to all Iowans.

Chris Espersen is a Gazette Editorial Fellow. Comments: chris.espersen@thegazette.com