Central Valley and the Cutting Edge of Wealth-Building

July 30th, 2024

Devon Gray is the president of End Poverty in California. He previously served as a special advisor in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. Andy Levine is a member of the Fresno Unified School Board and an Advisor to Fresno EOC on the Advancing Fresno County Guaranteed Income Program.

This article originally appeared in the Fresno Bee.

Fresno and the Central Valley are often in state and national news for high rates of poverty and inequality. With few exceptions, what’s not recognized are the local community leaders and campaigns that have been fighting for years to change that reality – and should be viewed as blazing a trail for the rest of the state and nation.

Next week, as the Central Valley’s second-ever guaranteed basic income pilot (former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs jumpstarted the movement there in 2019) distributes its first payments to 150 Fresno County families, it is once again clear that the region is maximizing opportunities to combat poverty and build generational wealth for our most historically denied communities. 

Through both the guaranteed income pilot (called “Advancing Fresno County”) and promoting the state’s child savings accounts program (CalKIDS), local leaders are working to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to build wealth and thrive. 

The need for this work in the Central Valley and throughout the state couldn’t be more clear: The Golden State is a land of abundance with the fifth largest economy in the world. The state has more billionaires than any nation outside the US other than China, and also obscene wealth inequality. Despite its resources, California also has the highest poverty rate in the nation when adjusted for cost of living, and Fresno County is among the state’s poorest counties. Fresno County also has the 5^th highest share of income going to childcare as well as skyrocketing rents, despite an outdated myth that the area is affordable. These two costs alone result in too many families living in an economic pressure cooker, with little space to afford basic necessities, plan or even enjoy their lives, much less save for their children.

But we know that a little extra cash goes a long way for young children in low-income households, which is why Fresno County’s GI pilot focuses on families with children ages 5 and under. Moreover, guaranteed income pilots have shown positive impacts on physical and mental health, familial relationships, food security and housing stability. Thanks to over $1 million in philanthropic funding from the California Wellness Foundation, the California Endowment, and others, the program will distribute $500 monthly—no strings attached—to 150 randomly selected low-income families (defined as under 80% their area median income) who live in southwest Fresno and Huron, two of our county’s highest-poverty urban and rural zip codes. The success of the program will be rigorously evaluated by the Center for Community Voices at Fresno State. However, evidence from dozens of similar pilots around the state and country leaves us confident this program will yield both short- and long-term benefits as it provides families breathing room to be fully engaged with their children in their critical early childhood development and school readiness years.

With the Newsom Administration’s California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) we are able to help public school students save for college or career training. Every low-income public school student is eligible for at least $500 (as much as $1500) and the unfortunate reality is that means almost all Fresno Unified students. 

While we know that it will take time for families to become aware and take advantage of this critical resource, Fresno Unified is doing everything it can to maximize enrollment. In a March resolution, Fresno Unified set a goal of at least 25% of all eligible students claiming their funds district wide and 50% of high schoolers by June 2025. This kind of state and local partnership is critical for the program to have maximum impact, and we need it to, since studies have shown that as little as $500 in college savings can triple a student’s chances of attending and quadruple the chances of graduating from college. 

Since the resolution was adopted in March, more than 2100 additional Fresno Unified students have claimed their CalKIDS accounts and enrollment has increased by 50% in the district. Already, the accounts have paid out $500,000 to post secondary institutions that Fresno Unified graduates are attending. The resolution is now being considered as a model for other districts as well, and the Bakersfield City School District unanimously approved a similar plan on June 25.

People in the Central Valley are tired of reading only about the problems in our region. We know what is needed—resources that have long been denied. When even few resources are made available, we have unmatched capacity for leadership, resilience, and brilliance. 

So watch the Central Valley now as we innovate to create wealth–and a better today and tomorrow–for our children and families.