Earlier this year, Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan — a critical shot in the arm for struggling communities as we emerge from the pandemic. These funds are intended to shore up municipal budgets and allow local jurisdictions to address the negative economic impacts of the health emergency. My hope is that Santa Rosa uses a chunk of our $34.6 million to make significant investments in struggling neighborhoods while testing poverty-alleviating programs aimed at building long-term economic mobility.
This coming Tuesday, I will ask my colleagues on the City Council to consider investing in children’s savings accounts, bolstering our child care pilot program, funding a guaranteed jobs program for struggling workers and testing a guaranteed income pilot program. Together, this package would be one of the largest poverty-reduction efforts our region has ever seen.
Studies consistently tell us that inequality is both pervasive and generational, and that if we want to give children the best chance to succeed, we need to make early, upfront investments in their success. The City Council should consider using the rescue plan funds to help break this cycle and invest in “baby bonds.”
By providing government-sponsored savings accounts, low-income children would receive the seed funding they need to afford higher education or the down payment on a home later in life. These accounts would appreciate in value over time and would incentivize long-term savings. Studies show that baby bond programs are a cost-effective way to reduce pervasive racial wealth gaps.
We also know that parents have a harder time succeeding if they don’t have a support network they can rely on to help watch their children while they’re working. Last year, the Santa Rosa City Council unanimously approved $2 million to prop up our strained child care industry. At the pandemic’s peak, Santa Rosa saw nearly 60% of our child care slots evaporate, leaving our city’s workforce scrambling to find placement for their kids. In partnership with First 5 Sonoma County and the Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County, we have been working to stabilize existing child care providers and administer training to interested small businesses to expand child care capacity. A $2 million injection of federal relief funds could be used on Phase II of the program — to create a low-interest tenant improvement program that would assist providers in making the physical improvements to their properties necessary to open their doors or expand.
We should also recognize the nexus between our economic development goals and other city priorities, such as homelessness and disaster preparedness. By setting aside $2 million for a guaranteed work program, we could provide a temporary job to anyone in the city who has fallen on hard times and teach them the skills they need to do vegetation management and park beautification.
If we couple this program with our homeless services, we could help stabilize the city’s poorest residents and help lift them out of homelessness. By guaranteeing work, we can put people back on their feet and help them recover from the pandemic.
Finally, 61% of Americans do not have the savings necessary to weather an unexpected $1,000 expense without borrowing money or using credit. Building off the success of the federal stimulus checks, the City Council should consider $1 million to fund a $400 per month guaranteed income pilot program for single parents who live far below the poverty line.
Studies have shown that targeted guaranteed income program recipients are twice as likely to find full-time employment and are 27% more likely to seek preventive medical care. Less than 1% of the funds typically go toward alcohol and tobacco, with the vast majority spent on food, home goods, clothes and car costs. What the data shows is that putting money in the hands of struggling single parents is a direct investment in a better future for our city’s low-income children.
Santa Rosa has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address systemic inequality and alleviate poverty for struggling families. Let’s be bold and offer solutions that match the size and scope of the problems we face.
Chris Rogers is mayor of Santa Rosa.
You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.
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July 11, 2021 at 02:15PM
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Close to Home: A chance to invest in Santa Rosa’s future - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
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